Faculty development in point of care ultrasound for internists

Med Educ Online. 2016 Dec 13:21:33287. doi: 10.3402/meo.v21.33287. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Lack of general medicine faculty expertise is a likely contributor to the slow adoption of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) by internal medicine (IM) residency training programs. We developed a 10-week faculty development program, during which 15 faculty members participated in 2 hours and 10 hours of online didactic and hands-on training, respectively. Pre-post comparisons showed that there were statistically significant improvements in faculty participants' ability to interpret images (p<0.001), perceived understanding of the capabilities and limitations of POCUS (p=0.003), comfort using POCUS to make clinical decisions (p=0.003), and perceptions regarding the extent to which POCUS can improve patient care (p=0.026). The next challenge for IM programs is to improve access to ultrasound machines and provide follow-up workshops to facilitate further development of skills and integration of POCUS into daily practice by general medicine faculty.

Keywords: bedside diagnosis; faculty development; internal medicine; physical exam; point of care ultrasound.

Publication types

  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Academic Medical Centers
  • Faculty, Medical / education*
  • Humans
  • Internal Medicine / education*
  • Internship and Residency / organization & administration*
  • Internship and Residency / standards
  • Point-of-Care Systems*
  • Prospective Studies
  • Staff Development / organization & administration*
  • Ultrasonography / methods*