Utilization of point-of-care ultrasound among graduates of a 4-year longitudinal medical school ultrasound curriculum

Nguyen, Andy Phan; Saadat, Soheil; Nguyen, Michelle Thao; Desai, Monica Devang; Rowland, Jonathan Wesley; Fox, John Christian

doi:.0..

Clin Exp Emerg Med > Accepted Articles

Brief Research Report

doi: https://doi.org/10.15441/ceem.22.357 [Accepted]

Utilization of point-of-care ultrasound among graduates of a 4-year longitudinal medical school ultrasound curriculum

Andy Phan Nguyen^1,2, Soheil Saadat²

, Michelle Thao Nguyen^2,3

, Monica Devang Desai^2,4, Jonathan Wesley Rowland^2,5

, John Christian Fox^2,3

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, Temecula Valley Hospital, Universal Health Services, Temecula, CA, USA
²Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA
³School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA, USA
⁴College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, USA
⁵Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

Correspondence John Christian Fox Email: jfox@hs.uci.edu

Received: August 6, 2022. Revised: December 28, 2022. Accepted: January 2, 2023. Published online: January 30, 2023.

ABSTRACT

Objective
In 2011, University of California, Irvine was among the first schools to implement a 4-year ultrasound curriculum. We aimed to find the point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) utilization pattern among University of California, Irvine alumni.
Methods
We surveyed University of California, Irvine alumni from the class of 2011 and beyond. Survey questions included POCUS reliance, frequency of use, and comfort with image acquisition and interpretation compared with peers. The primary outcomes were self-reported comfort and reliance on POCUS.
Results
We analyzed responses from 87 of the 624 surveyed alumni (response rate, 14.9%). Although 46 respondents (52.9%) reported more reliance on POCUS, three (3.4%) relied on it less than their peers. At the same time, 72 (82.7%) and 67 (77.0%) felt more comfortable than their colleagues in obtaining and interpreting POCUS, respectively. No respondents felt less comfortable obtaining or interpreting POCUS than their peers. The frequency of POCUS use correlated directly with the frequency with which POCUS changed the responder’s case management (rho, 0.860; P<0.001). POCUS reliance also correlated with respondents’ comfort level in obtaining (rho, 0.321; P<0.001) and interpreting (rho, 0.378; P<0.001) POCUS results.
Conclusion
University of California, Irvine graduates had higher reliance on POCUS than peers in their respective specialties. Their POCUS findings frequently changed their case management.

Keywords: Diagnostic imaging; Point-of-care ultrasound; Ultrasound curriculum; Emergency medicine