Pediatric Residency Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training Needs Assessment and Educational Intervention

Cureus (09/02/2022) Arichai, Piyawat; Delaney, Marc; Slamowitz, April; et al.

Researchers assessed the need for a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) curriculum for pediatric residency and the effects of an educational intervention on self-efficacy and behavior. A cross-sectional survey of pediatric residents included 49 respondents covering all three pediatric levels with 16 specialty interest areas. The authors also offered a two-week POCUS course to pediatric residents over two years. The main clinical topics covered basics of ultrasound, cardiology, pulmonary, musculoskeletal, renal, soft tissue, Extended Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma, and Rapid Ultrasound in Shock and Hypotension. Procedure topics included introduction to ultrasound-guided procedures and peripheral venous access. The overall response rate was 42% across all three pediatric training levels, including 36.7% in level 1, 24.5% in level 2, and 38.8% in level 3. Ninety-eight percent of the residents surveyed felt POCUS should be used for patient care more frequently and 96% deemed POCUS a key skill in pediatrics. Intervention participants showed improvement in all four POCUS competencies (POCUS indication, image acquisition, interpretation, and clinical application). "Further study is needed to evaluate POCUS applications in general pediatric medicine to develop a standardized POCUS curriculum and establish a training guideline for pediatric residency," the authors conclude.

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