Deconstructing the Extended Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (E-FAST) as a Roadmap for Longitudinal Integration of Point of Care Ultrasound Education Within Undergraduate Medical Education.

Abstract

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has been embraced by most medical specialties, yet undergraduate medical education still has difficulty incorporating POCUS skill development and assessment. While much of the existing literature focuses on specific POCUS and/or ultrasound topics, the feasibility as well as ensuring POCUS topics are relevant to all undergraduate medical education (UME) learners are often left unaddressed. The authors outline a novel, outcomes-driven, longitudinal POCUS curriculum designed around a "deconstructed" Extended Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (E-FAST) exam, which facilitated purposeful integration of POCUS and medical imaging topics into organ system-based foundational courses. Curriculum development strategies specific to POCUS will be reviewed, including reverse curriculum design, emphasis on assessment, and identifying POCUS topics relevant to most undergraduate medical students while avoiding specialty specific preferences. This roadmap aims to assist other institutions in developing their own programs to teach POCUS within the broader scope of modern ultrasound practices.