RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Canadian national survey of point-of-care ultrasound training in family medicine residency programs
JF Canadian Family Physician
JO Can Fam Physician
FD The College of Family Physicians of Canada
SP e462
OP e467
VO 64
IS 10
A1 Micks, Taft
A1 Braganza, David
A1 Peng, Shuo
A1 McCarthy, Patti
A1 Sue, Kyle
A1 Doran, Pamela
A1 Hall, Jeffrey
A1 Holman, Harland
A1 O’Keefe, Danielle
A1 Rogers, Peter
A1 Steinmetz, Peter
YR 2018
UL http://www.cfp.ca/content/64/10/e462.abstract
AB Objective To assess the current state of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) training in Canadian family medicine residency programs.Design Cross-sectional survey to evaluate POCUS education in accredited Canadian family medicine residency programs; only 1 completed survey was accepted per residency program.Setting Seventeen accredited Canadian family medicine residency programs.Participants Fourteen directors of family medicine programs across Canada.Main outcome measures Opinions of program directors in family medicine education on the relevance of POCUS in family medicine, and the role of POCUS training in family medicine residency programs.Results The Web-based, anonymous survey, which was completed during the months of March and April 2016, achieved a response rate of 82% (14 out of 17 program directors). About one-fifth (21%) of program directors reported having an established ultrasound curriculum. Almost all directors (93%) believed that POCUS teaching should be integrated into family medicine residency curricula. Barriers to establishing training included the following: lack of adequate equipment (57%), lack of instructors (57%), lack of available time in the curriculum (57%), and lack of funding available to support training (71%). Seventy-one percent of respondents believed that POCUS could be used in outpatient family medicine clinics to alter clinical decision making. Some potential benefits associated with POCUS in primary care include more rapid diagnosis, improved patient outcomes, and potential to reduce health care costs.Conclusion Although only a few Canadian family medicine residency program directors reported actually having an established ultrasound curriculum, most of them believed that POCUS training should be offered to family medicine residents and that its use could positively affect primary care. A growing number of family medicine residency programs are considering incorporating ultrasound training into their curricula, but resource availability remains a considerable barrier to implementation.