POCUS Journal (Nov 2019)

Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training for Family Medicine Residents: Examining the outcomes and feasibility of a pilot ultrasound curriculum

  • Gordon Yao,
  • Taeyoung Peter Hong,
  • Philip Lee,
  • Joseph Newbigging,
  • Brent Wolfrom

DOI
https://doi.org/10.24908/pocus.v4i2.13692
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 2

Abstract

Read online

It is estimated that 50% of deaths due to abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) could be prevented by a national screening program [1, 2, 3]. Thanks to technological advancements and cost reductions, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in family medicine (FM) is becoming more prevalent [4, 5]. Despite the potential utility of POCUS in FM, of 224 FM residency programs surveyed, only 21% had developed a curriculum [6]. The main barriers identified to establishing a FM POCUS curriculum in Canadian FM residency programs were lack of trained faculty, lack of adequate equipment and lack of time in the curriculum [6].