Evaluation of the Impact of a 2-Day Point-of-care Ultrasonography Course on the Theoretical Knowledge and Practical Skills of Physicians

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Turkey’s first European accredited 2-day point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) course onthe theoretical knowledge and practical skills of physicians.Materials and Methods: Forty physicians and five lecturers attended the course. All the lectures were arranged as per the POCUS CurriculumGuidelines given by the International Federation of Emergency Medicine. At the beginning and the end of the course, a theoretical examwas conducted with the same set of questions. Practical skills were evaluated at the hands-on training stations using checklists. Pre-test andpost-test results were statistically compared.Results: All the attendants of the course were included in the study. The numbers of the correct pre-test and post-test answers were 1.23±0.89and 1.95±0.64 for abdominal aorta ultrasound (USG), 3.23±1.27 and 5.08±1.07 for cardiac USG, 0.95±0.68 and 1.78±0.42 for USG physics,3.03±1.42 and 4.48±1.11 for expanded-focussed assessment with sonography in trauma, 1.75±0.74 and 2.35±0.62 for hepatobiliary USG,1.4±0.71 and 1.85±0.36 for inferior vena cava USG, 1.18±0.55 and 1.48±0.51 for renal USG and 1.88±1.04 and 2.7±0.82 for lung USG,respectively. All the differences were statistically significant.Conclusion: The study shows that our 2-day basic course has effectively conveyed the fundamental POCUS knowledge and skills.