Experience with a Longitudinal Ultrasound Curriculum in Internal Medicine GME: resident perceptions before and after implementation

Background: Internal Medicine (IM) residents are increasingly exposed to point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), particularly in academic Emergency Departments and Intensive Care Units. In addition, medical schools across the... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
Internal Medicine (IM) residents are increasingly exposed to point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), particularly in academic Emergency Departments and Intensive Care Units. In addition, medical schools across the country are integrating POCUS training into the undergraduate curriculum. Despite growing interest among IM residents and faculty, several barriers exist to establishing a formal ultrasound curriculum in IM. Our residency program at Palmetto Health USC recently initiated a structured longitudinal curriculum using limited resources. This experience may be helpful for other programs looking to incorporate ultrasound training at their institution.

Objectives:
1) To describe the current longitudinal curriculum including the hurdles and successes experienced by the residents and the faculty.
2) To discuss survey data on the experience and opinions of the residents within the program prior to the curriculum initiation and compare to repeat survey data that will be collected annually.

Methods:
Prior to initiating the new curriculum, the outgoing residents were surveyed in 2015. While all residents had POCUS experience, they did not have experience with a structured longitudinal curriculum. The incoming interns were also surveyed prior to initiation. In June and July 2016, the outgoing PGY3 residents, those starting PGY2, and the new incoming interns will complete additional surveys. This data will be compared between years within each group and between groups at a set time within the education. Interns will list level of experience upon entry to the program, confidence in a variety of clinical skills to include bedside ultrasound, opinions on timing and duration of ultrasound education, intended specialty, and what they each think are the top three applications of POCUS. Residents further in the program will be surveyed on the amount of POCUS training they have received within residency and the barriers to using POCUS in residency in addition to the questions given to incoming interns.