Abstract / Summary
Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) as a tool for evaluating patients at bedside is increasingly used in the field of internal medicine.Expectations for internal medicine clinician competency are growing.However, ultrasound is not currently well integrated into graduate medical education for internal medicine residents.Published curricula describe time and resource intensive courses that may be impractical for teaching a broad clinical skill.Further, assessment in prior studies frequently relies on self-reported surveys rather than direct evaluation.We aimed to determine the feasibility of a brief ultrasound curriculum utilizing self-study and simulation-based assessment of image acquisition as well as image interpretation and clinical application, and identify any factors that may affect assessment scores, including clinical exposure.Methods: In 2024, internal medicine residents (post-graduate-year two and above) were provided with selfstudy videos on cardiac ultrasound technique and pathology.Residents then participated in a brief hands-on session using live models and high-fidelity ultrasound simulators.They were encouraged to practice during clinical rotations.Participants later returned for testing using a combined high-fidelity ultrasound and patient simulator.Performance was assessed using checklists adapted from published tools.Demographics and prior ultrasound experience were collected by survey.Results: 10 out of 12 participants completed training, testing, and the survey.Residents performed well in image acquisition, but frequently lost points on image interpretation and clinical management.Residents reporting ≥ 10 clinical echocardiograms performed between testing and training achieved higher mean scores than those with <10 (79.6% vs 57.3%).Prior ultrasound exposure was variable, but generally limited.Conclusion: The brief curriculum combining self-study with hands-on instruction facilitated internal medicine resident training in bedside cardiac ultrasound with reasonably low use of resources.Brief training may support developing image acquisition skills, but ongoing clinical experience may be important to promote accurate interpretation and application.Self-study resources and simulation have potential to contribute to education and assessment.