POINT OF CARE ULTRASOUND: DISTANCE EDUCATION FOR POCKET ULTRASOUND DEVICES

Abstract

This interpretive case study, framed in mixed methods inquiry, explored the effectiveness of distance education methodologies for hands-on practical skills training in the use of pocket ultrasound devices (PUDs) in a simulated point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) environment. Research participants who met pre-specified inclusion criteria (non-probability purposive sampling) were recruited from the School of Health and Life Sciences at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), a sample representing faculty from the allied health sector. Participants included twenty ultrasound naïve learners from different professions spanning eight allied health disciplines, and two instructors from the diagnostic medical sonography profession (ultrasound). Instructional activities were created to encompass e-learning outcomes in knowledge and PUD skill acquisition in thoracic, cardiac, abdominal, and pelvic ultrasound (sonographic) imaging, according to the Extended Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (EFAST) protocol, including relevant professional behaviors. Over a training period of four to six calendar weeks, learner participants accessed instructor-facilitated, asynchronous theory learning in a learning management system (Moodle). The theory component was followed by three one-hour sessions of synchronous practical skills training in EFAST with live models: learners were remotely connected to an instructor participant, one-on-one in real-time, utilizing the Philips Lumify PUD integrated with the Remote Education, Augmented Communication, Training and Supervision (REACTS®) distance education (DE) tele-ultrasound platform. In addition, learner participants were engaged in pre, mid, and end-study online questionnaires, and instructor participants completed electronic field notes. Learning outcomes were assessed with three consecutive objective structured competency-based examinations (OSCEs) in face-to-face EFAST simulated environments, over a one-hour testing time frame, with ultrasound models behaving as standardized patients, and one assessor assigned per OSCE station. Study results indicate a successful training intervention for learners (sixteen of twenty) and instructor participants and provide educational contributions towards an emerging body of knowledge on POCUS DE approaches, techniques, and tools. Recommendations from research findings inform standardization and consistency of DE POCUS training for medical educational communities, including allied health personnel who use PUDs (or other portable ultrasound devices) in their POCUS scopes of practice.