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Point‐of‐care ultrasound education for non‐physician clinicians in a resource‐limited emergency department
Author(s) -
Stolz Lori A.,
Muruganandan Krithika M.,
Bisanzo Mark C.,
Sebikali Mugisha J.,
Dreifuss Bradley A.,
Hammerstedt Heather S.,
Nelson Sara W.,
Nayabale Irene,
Adhikari Srikar,
Shah Sachita P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/tmi.12511
Subject(s) - medicine , point of care ultrasound , emergency department , emergency ultrasound , focused assessment with sonography for trauma , ultrasound , curriculum , point of care , emergency medicine , medical emergency , interventional radiology , radiology , nursing , psychology , pedagogy , abdominal trauma , blunt
Objective To describe the outcomes and curriculum components of an educational programme to train non‐physician clinicians working in a rural, Ugandan emergency department in the use of POC ultrasound. Methods The use of point‐of‐care ultrasound was taught to emergency care providers through lectures, bedsides teaching and hands‐on practical sessions. Lectures were tailored to care providers' knowledge base and available therapeutic means. Every ultrasound examination performed by these providers was recorded over 4.5 years. Findings of these examinations were categorised as positive, negative, indeterminate or procedural. Other radiologic studies ordered over this same time period were also recorded. Results A total of 22 639 patients were evaluated in the emergency department by emergency care providers, and 2185 point‐of‐care ultrasound examinations were performed on 1886 patients. Most commonly used were the focused assessment with sonography in trauma examination (53.3%) and echocardiography (16.4%). Point‐of‐care ultrasound studies were performed more frequently than radiology department‐performed studies. Positive findings were documented in 46% of all examinations. Conclusions We describe a novel curriculum for point‐of‐care ultrasound education of non‐physician emergency practitioners in a resource‐limited setting. These non‐physician clinicians integrated ultrasound into clinical practice and utilised this imaging modality more frequently than traditional radiology department imaging with a large proportion of positive findings.