High-Efficiency Ultrasound-Guided Regional Nerve Block Workshop for Emergency Medicine Residents

This small-group workshop is designed for emergency medicine residents. This workshop can also be offered to medical students or faculty interested in reviewing and practicing ultrasound-guided regional nerve blocks.

Ultrasound-guided regional nerve block (UGRNB) is a method used to administer local anesthesia to otherwise unreachable locations on the body and may be used in the management of various painful conditions seen in the emergency department. The ultrasound curriculum of our residency program is longitudinal. All residents spend time with the ultrasound director throughout their training, engage in daily bedside ultrasound, and have regular skills training on the various clinical applications of ultrasound. Additionally, all residents have a required ultrasound rotation dedicated to performing bedside ultrasound in the Emergency Department. Although others have outlined approaches to teaching emergency medicine residents the techniques needed to perform UGRNBs, the value of taking a one-day, high-efficiency teaching strategy with a narrow focus on practical application has yet to be appreciated.

The objective of this workshop is to provide emergency medicine residents the confidence and skill sets needed to effectively perform five commonly used UGRNBs for conditions encountered in the emergency department. Through this one-day, accelerated workshop, residents will be given an opportunity to sharpen their UGRNB technique prior to applying them in the clinical environment. By the end of this workshop, learners will be able to: 1) recognize the clinical situations in which UGRNBs can be utilized and understand the associated risks, 2) list the commonly used local anesthetic medications and their proper dosing in respect to regional nerve blocks, 3) demonstrate proper ultrasound probe positioning and identify relevant anatomical landmarks for each nerve block on both standardized patients and cadavers, 4) describe the common steps involved to perform each nerve block, 5) perform the five UGRNB techniques outlined in this workshop.

Small group activity combining didactic learning, case-based learning, and procedural simulation. The didactic component may be delivered in an asynchronous learning or "flipped classroom" format.

In-person interviews of the learners were obtained following the debriefing session during which they were asked about their enjoyment and satisfaction with the workshop. In addition, learners were asked about the value of the activities for their clinical practices and to provide formative feedback regarding the design of the workshop.

Overall, participants reported high levels of enjoyment, and many verbalized their satisfaction with the expeditious and pragmatic nature of the workshop. Some participants commented that they were looking forward to future workshops of similar design. Participants also stated that they felt more confident performing nerve blocks and looked forward to applying these skills in the clinical setting.

A focused small-group workshop directed towards developing the confidence and skill set necessary to perform UGRNBs can be successfully offered to emergency medicine residents in a single-day workshop.

Ultrasound, nerve block, local anesthesia, injection, pain, resident, workshop.