Evaluating the role of traditional and nontraditional educational resources in point-of-care ultrasound training: A cross-sectional survey of educator preferences and practices

Background

Recently, nontraditional educational resources like podcasts, blogs, and online media have gained prominence in medical education and are abundant within the field of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). However, the extent to which POCUS educators utilize online resources compared to traditional resources, like textbooks, journal articles, and in-person workshops, is unknown. We aim to define which types of educational resources are used and preferred by POCUS educators to teach trainees.

Methods

An expert working group developed a survey aimed to characterize the types of materials used by POCUS educators and their perceived importance on a 6-point forced ranking scale. We administered the survey to POCUS educators at the 2023 Society for Clinical Ultrasound Fellowships conference. Responses were analyzed using random-effects regression analyses.

Results

Sixty-two participants completed the questionnaire. In-person workshops (mean importance 5.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.8–5.4) and online media (mean importance 4.8, 95% CI 4.4–5.1) were ranked as the most important resources for POCUS education overall, though not statistically different from each other (p > 0.001). Journal articles (mean importance 3.4, 95% CI 2.2–4.6), eBooks (mean importance 2.9, 95% CI 1.4–4.4), and podcasts (mean importance 2.8, 95% CI 1.5–4.1) were found to be of moderate importance and were not statistically different from each other. Respondents reported that textbooks were of least importance (mean importance 2.1, 95% CI 0.7–3.5).

Conclusions

POCUS educators view nontraditional educational materials with great importance, though in-person workshops remain the mainstay of POCUS education. POCUS educators utilize nontraditional educational materials and consider them more important than textbooks within POCUS curricula.