Early, Supervised Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training for Internal Medicine Interns: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS)
• Internal Medicine Residency Training

Background:

• Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) integration in internal medicine is growing, but early residency training is inconsistent.
• Objective evaluations of structured POCUS curricula for interns are limited.
• This study addresses the need for evaluating early intern POCUS education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a structured, early Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) curriculum for internal medicine interns.
• To assess improvements in both POCUS knowledge and technical competency.
• To identify areas for curricular refinement in POCUS training.

Main Methods:

• A six-month quality improvement initiative involving 20 internal medicine interns.
• A structured POCUS curriculum including didactics, supervised bedside training, and reinforcement.
• Knowledge assessed via pre- and post-intervention multiple-choice examinations; practical competency evaluated using a skills rubric.

Main Results:

• Knowledge assessment scores improved significantly, with 95% passing post-intervention compared to 10% at baseline (p < 0.001).
• 90% of interns passed the composite practical skills assessment.
• Proficiency was high in basic skills (landmark identification 87%), but lower in advanced applications like IVC measurement (35%) and aortic valve visualization (45%).

Conclusions:

• An early, supervised POCUS curriculum effectively enhanced intern knowledge and technical skills.
• The curriculum demonstrated high rates of competency in fundamental POCUS applications.
• Identified limitations in advanced assessments informed targeted improvements for future POCUS curricula.