Impact of 8-Week Bedside Ultrasound Training for Surgical Residents in the Intensive Care Unit of a Tertiary Care Hospital - a Pilot Study

Purpose: Bedside ultrasound has become one of the most important non-invasive and read-ily available diagnostic tools, especially for critically ill patients. Despite the increasing usage and importance of bedside ultrasound, a standard and well-structured training program for surgical residents is still lacking. This study assessed and evaluated the effectiveness of our new 8-weeks ultrasound course for surgical residents. Methods: Twenty-two residents from the department of general surgery from a tertiary care hospital in Korea attended the newly designed 8-weeks of bedside ultrasound training course in the surgical intensive care unit. A multimodal approach was used including didactic lectures about the basics of ultrasound as well as daily hands-on ultrasound examinations of patients under the supervision of an instructor. Participants documented their ultrasound findings and determined self-proficiency in ultrasound techniques using a 5-point Likert scale. Results: After the educational intervention, the proficiency scores of the residents showed a significant improvement in every element (P < 0.001). Proficiency scores also showed a significant improvement regardless of their previous exposure to ultrasound manipulation. Among the most perceived barriers in using bedside ultrasound were lack of education (43%) and lack of a feedback system (29%). Conclusion: The confidence of surgical residents in their use of bedside ultrasound could be improved with a well-structured training program. In addition, a short and intense program may help them to overcome the barriers that they may perceive to using bedside ultrasound. The authors believe such programs should be encouraged in all surgical residencies so that residents can competently use bedside ultrasound for the primary care of critically ill patients.