Background Implementation of a point of care ultrasound curricula is valuable, but optimal integration for internal medicine residency is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if a structured ultrasound curriculum vs. structured ultrasound curriculum plus supervised thoracic ultrasounds would improve internal medicine residents’ skill and retention 6 and 12 months from baseline. Methods We conducted a randomized controlled study evaluating internal medical residents’ skill retention of thoracic ultrasound using a structured curriculum (control, n = 14) vs. structured curriculum plus 20 supervised bedside thoracic ultrasounds (intervention, n = 14). We used a stratified randomization based on program year. All subjects attended a half-day course that included 5 lectures and hands-on sessions at baseline. Assessments included written and practical exams at baseline, immediately post-course and at 6 and 12 months. Scores are reported as a percentage for the number of correct responses/number of questions (range 0–100%). The Mann Whitney U and the Friedman tests were used for analyses. Results Twenty-eight residents were enrolled. Two subjects withdrew prior to the 6-month exams. Written exam scores for all subjects improved, baseline median (IQR) 60 (46.47 to 66.67) post-course 80 (65 to 86.67), 6-month 80 (66.67 to 86.67) and 12-month 86.67 (80 to 88.34), p = <0.001. All subjects practical exam scores median (IQR) significantly improved, baseline 18.18 (7.95 to 32.95), post-course 59.09 (45.45 to 70.45), 6 month 71.74 (60.87 to 82.61) and 12-month 76.09 (65.22 to 88.05), p = <0.001. Comparing the control group to the intervention group, there were statistically significant higher scores, median (IQR), in the intervention group on the practical exam at 6 months 63.05 (48.92 to 69.57) vs. 82.61(72.83 to89.13), p = <0.001. Conclusion In this cohort, internal medicine residents participating in a structured thoracic ultrasound course plus 20-supervised ultrasounds achieved higher practical exam scores long-term compared to controls.

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