Teaching ultrasound guided femoral nerve block in the emergency department

Patients with hip fracture are often not given adequate analgesia in the Emergency Department. Ultrasound guided femoral nerve block is an effective option but it is not commonly used due to limited experience, inadequate training and infrequent clinical exposure. We aimed to develop a workshop to bridge the current gap in the training of ultrasound guided femoral nerve block.

A 3-hour workshop was developed in accordance to guidelines for education and training in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia. The components included an online learning module for pre-reading, as well as team-based learning and simulation practice during the session. Evaluation of the participants was performed and feedbackof the course was collected.

The workshop was conducted successfully for a total of 30 participants. All participants achieved the minimum standard required. Across all domains, the mean scores for the workshop were more than 4.7 out of 5 on the Likert scale. Participants were satisfied with the workshop and would recommend it to a colleague.

This workshop met its educational objectives and various principles of medical education were used effectively in the delivery of the content. Further research is necessary to demonstrate the impact of this educational effort on clinical practice and patient outcomes.