Improving Resident Knowledge of Point of Care Ultrasound in an Outpatient Residency Clinic

Sometimes referred to as “the stethoscope of the future,” ultrasound has many advantages over other imaging techniques which make it ideal for use in primary care. With a unique combination of portability, dynamic imaging, affordability, and real-time interpretation point of care ultrasound (POCUS) is ideal for use in many practice settings. The use of POCUS as the primary imaging modality for many diseases can drastically shorten the time to definitive treatment, and as such is the preferred modality for some presentations. The purpose of this project was to investigate means to improve resident physician knowledge of POCUS and to evaluate if increased knowledge would lead to increased utilization in our outpatient clinic. We started with a pre-test survey covering basic POCUS knowledge as well as a question concerning current utilization of ultrasound imaging in the clinic. We followed that with an educational lecture about the basics of POCUS and some hands-on practice. Afterward a posttest survey was conducted. We found that there was a significant increase in both basic knowledge and the number of residents who intended to use POCUS in the clinic compared to the pre-test. These findings confirm that education on point of care ultrasound can increase both knowledge and utilization in the outpatient clinic. Further education and research could be done to see if there is an actual increase in utilization with continued education