Integrating Point of Care Ultrasound Education into Clinical Practice at the Emergency Department

Abstract

Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) competency is now required learning for emergency medicine trainees. However, there is a wide range of areas that need to be assessed when determining competence. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate competence levels of POCUS skill acquisition including the areas of image acquisition, image interpretation and clinical integration of the emergency medicine residents while on shift in real clinical practice situations. This was a retrospective descriptive study. This study was conducted at Srinagarind Hospital, Thailand from January 2021 through December 2021. The data were collected and reviewed from electronic medical records, ultrasound images and video clips. All POCUS competency skills were assessed by researcher staff. Our results demonstrated that our learners had overall satisfactory competence of image acquisition, satisfactory image interpretation skills, and good clinical integration skills. However, obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN) ultrasound scores were poor and cardiac ultrasound had the most varied score of image quality. This study clearly showed the measurable benefits of a POCUS course being integrated into real clinical practice.