Echocardiography interpretation training and internal medicine milestones: A pilot study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Physician Competency Assessment

Background:

• The Internal Medicine Milestones (IMM) framework assesses physician competency through six core areas.
• A pilot study implemented IMM principles in an echocardiography report interpretation course for junior physicians.
• The goal was to enhance understanding and tracking of competency development during cardiovascular training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of an echocardiography interpretation course on Internal Medicine Milestones (IMM) scores.
• To assess the impact of competency-based training on postgraduate year (PGY) and resident (R) physicians.
• To provide a model for future curriculum development in internal medicine competency assessment.

Main Methods:

• A single-center prospective study from August 2022 to December 2023.
• Pre- and post-course test scores and baseline IMM scores were collected for 193 junior physicians.
• Follow-up IMM assessments were conducted at 3 and 6 months post-course.

Main Results:

• Post-course scores significantly improved compared to pre-course scores (4.3 ± 1.3 vs. 2.9 ± 1.3, P < 0.001).
• IMM scores increased from baseline to 3 months (7.2 ± 1.3 vs. 5.8 ± 1.2, P < 0.001) and then plateaued.
• No significant differences in scores were observed based on sex or physician rank.

Conclusions:

• The echocardiography course effectively improved physician competency assessment scores.
• Competency-based training positively impacts junior physicians' skill development during clinical practice.
• Findings support the integration of IMM principles into internal medicine residency curricula.