Teaching the Teachers: A Flexible, Cognitive-Focused Curriculum in Point-of-Care Ultrasound Education for Hospital Medicine Faculty

Objectives: We aimed to decrease barriers to acquiring Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) knowledge among attending physicians and improve the safety of trainee POCUS use through a novel flexible and cognitive based curriculum. Methods: We developed three educational pathways using varied approaches to educational delivery: a novel and asynchronous cognitive curriculum to allow Educational Supervision, a hands-on pathway for Limited Practice, and a more robust pathway for Independent Practice and credentialing. Results: From November 2018 through June 2021, 102 of 116 hospitalists engaged in some portion of the curriculum. Twenty-four completed the Educational Supervision pathway, 31 completed the Limited Practice pathway, and 17 enrolled in the Independent Practice pathway with three achieving independent practice. Faculty who completed the Educational Supervision pathway had improved scores on a comprehensive POCUS knowledge assessment, 43.5% [95% Confidence Interval (CI) 38.2–48.8] versus 72.0% [95% CI 65.2–78.8], P <.001. Junior faculty were more likely to engage in the supervision pathway and senior faculty were more likely to complete an intensive course to complete the Limited Practice pathway. Conclusions: A flexible, cognitive focused POCUS curriculum was effective in creating high levels of engagement, and a cognitive only curriculum resulted in significant improvement in hospitalists' POCUS knowledge without hands on training. Finally, we found that hospitalist engagement in the curriculum did not follow the lowest barrier to entry or time commitment and engagement varied by time in practice. Training faculty to independent practice remains a substantial challenge.