Piloting a Graduate Medical Education Point-of-Care Ultrasound Curriculum

Area of Science:

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

Background:

• Growing utilization of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) necessitates robust training within graduate medical education (GME).
• Existing POCUS training programs often lack standardization or multispecialty integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To pilot a multispecialty GME POCUS curriculum.
• To assess the feasibility, knowledge acquisition, and comfort levels of residents using POCUS.

Main Methods:

• A blended online and hands-on curriculum was developed, covering core POCUS modules.
• Residents from internal medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine, and combined internal medicine/pediatrics participated.
• Pre- and post-curriculum questionnaires and knowledge assessments were administered.

Main Results:

• All residents showed significant improvement in knowledge assessments (p<0.05).
• Statistically significant increases were observed in POCUS utilization frequency, comfort levels for various clinical scenarios, and overall competency (p<0.025).
• Residents reported acquired POCUS skills as essential for future practice.

Conclusions:

• A combined online and hands-on POCUS curriculum is a feasible and effective training model for GME.
• This pilot demonstrated significant improvements in resident POCUS knowledge, comfort, and application.
• The curriculum successfully enhanced residents' ability to integrate POCUS into clinical practice.