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. 2022 Sep 23;25(4):160-165.
doi: 10.1002/ajum.12317. eCollection 2022 Nov.

Emergency medicine trainees' perceived barriers to training and credentialing in point-of-care ultrasound: A cross-sectional study

Tarek Elsayed  1   2   3 , Peter J Snelling  1   2   3   4   5 , Erin J Stirling  1 , Stuart Watkins  1   2
Affiliations

Emergency medicine trainees' perceived barriers to training and credentialing in point-of-care ultrasound: A cross-sectional study

Tarek Elsayed et al. Australas J Ultrasound Med. .

Abstract

Introduction: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an important tool in emergency medicine (EM), with the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) recommending core modalities as part of fellowship training. In Australia, acquisition of these skills is certified via credentialing but is currently poorly undertaken by EM trainees.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional survey of EM trainees across two academic teaching hospitals in Gold Coast, Queensland, between December 2018 and January 2019, to determine the current state of training and perceived barriers to credentialing in POCUS.

Results: Fifty-two (59%) eligible EM trainees participated. Although credentialing rates (15%) were low amongst respondents, the majority agreed that it was necessary (69%) and should form part of ACEM training (88%). Amongst these trainees, we identified the desire for increased POCUS training and several barriers including time constraints and the credentialing process itself.

Conclusion: Although there is general agreement amongst EM trainees for POCUS credentialing, barriers such as time limitations and technical difficulties were prohibitive for many. We propose the development of an internal structured POCUS training programme within mandatory training time to address these issues.

Keywords: accreditation; bedside ultrasound; competency; credentialing; education; emergency; point‐of‐care ultrasound; proficiency; training.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Emergency medicine trainees’ current use of point‐of‐care ultrasound by modality. AAA, abdominal aortic aneurysm; FELS, focussed echocardiography in life support; DVT, deep vein thrombosis; eFAST, extended focussed assessment using sonography in trauma. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 2
Figure 2
Emergency medicine trainee desired future point‐of‐care ultrasound training by modality. AAA, abdominal aortic aneurysm; DVT, deep vein thrombosis; FELS, focussed echocardiography in life support; eFAST, extended focussed assessment using sonography in trauma. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
Figure 3
Figure 3
Emergency medicine trainees’ perceived barriers to credentialing. [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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