Faculty-Focused Perioperative Ultrasound Training Program: A Single-Center Experience

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anesthesiology
• Point-of-Care Ultrasound

Background:

• Comprehensive ultrasound education for practicing physicians is currently insufficient.
• Perioperative ultrasound offers valuable clinical applications for anesthesiologists.
• There is a need for structured training programs to enhance ultrasound proficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a perioperative ultrasound training program for Anesthesia faculty.
• To assess the program's impact on ultrasound knowledge and clinical skills.
• To determine the feasibility of implementing such educational initiatives.

Main Methods:

• A two-phase training program was implemented, including didactic lectures, hands-on sessions, and objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE).
• Phase one involved six live sessions with knowledge quizzes, while phase two offered 8-10 hours of individualized training.
• Participants demonstrated supervised performance of chosen ultrasound-related procedures.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in quiz scores were observed across the six sessions (p < 0.001).
• High average scores were achieved in the OSCE stations (mean 95.63%, median 98.33%).
• Trained faculty successfully performed a high volume of procedures, including regional anesthesia blocks and transthoracic echocardiography examinations.

Conclusions:

• A departmental ultrasound educational program can be effectively implemented.
• The program demonstrably improved ultrasound knowledge and practical skills in practicing anesthesiologists.
• This initiative highlights a successful model for enhancing perioperative ultrasound competency.