Effectiveness of Point-of-Care Ultrasound Education for Advanced Practice Providers

Abstract Background: Provider shortages and demands for inpatient providers have led to an increase in the utilization of Advanced Practice Providers (APPs). The increased use and specialization of APPs has brought attention to education and skills that have been instituted for other provider types but remains missing from the APP curricula. One such example is point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) education. This technology and skill set have been shown to enhance clinical skills, confidence levels, and provide useful information for the provider to enhance clinical decision making for the patient. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of POCUS education for APP’s confidence of clinical skills and diagnostic ability. Methods: A prospective quasi-experimental design with one-group pretest/posttest was employed for this study. Surveys were sent to University of Kentucky’s APP’s and Kentucky Association of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives (KANPNM) listservs. The educational content consisted of a video introducing POCUS concepts and methods utilizing the Focused Assessed Transthoracic Exam (FATE). Surveys were formulated and sent using REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture), hosted at the University of Kentucky. Results: Survey results revealed a significant change in confidence levels for clinical skills and ability to diagnose as well as a significant difference in knowledge scores. The majority of participants perceived that POCUS education benefit them and their patients. Conclusion: The findings from this study regarding the impact of education on APPs clinical skills and confidence levels in ability to diagnose supports other studies that recommend POCUS education for APPs