Insights into an innovative point of care ultrasound curriculum for Ontario primary maternity care providers.

Abstract

Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has increasingly been used by midwives worldwide. In 2018, the scope of midwifery care in Ontario was expanded to include POCUS to allow practitioners to provide more comprehensive care. In response to the scope expansion, a new continuing POCUS education course was created in collaboration with faculty and clinicians from obstetrics, midwifery, and medical radiation sciences. The continuing education sonography course focused on fostering the knowledge, skills and judgment Ontario midwives required to safely perform these new POCUS skills. The course included online modules, a two-day hands-on bootcamp workshop, and a clinical practicum under the supervision of a sonographer to confirm competency across the three trimesters of pregnancy. This paper outlines the process for POCUS curriculum development and implementation in pregnancy care following course completion. The first cohort of 17 learners completed the course in 2019. The new curriculum was well received by learners for learning and applying bedside sonography in clinical care. The indications to use POCUS most frequently reported by learners after course completion included assessment of pregnancy viability and fetal presentation. Challenges identified by participants with the course included learning new content such as physics and struggling to complete the clinical practicum due to the coronavirus pandemic. The success of this course is indicated by the completion of the objective structured clinical exams for all learners and meeting the competencies for beginning their practicum. The POCUS continuing education course plays an important role in providing the knowledge, skills and ability to perform point of care pregnancy scans among midwives.