ObjectivesThis study sought to establish by expert review a consensus‐based, focused ultrasound curriculum, consisting of a foundational set of focused ultrasound skills that all Canadian medical students would be expected to attain at the end of the medical school program.MethodsAn expert panel of 21 point‐of‐care ultrasound and educational leaders representing 15 of 17 (88%) Canadian medical schools was formed and participated in a modified Delphi consensus method. Experts anonymously rated 195 curricular elements on their appropriateness to include in a medical school curriculum using a 5‐point Likert scale. The group defined consensus as 70% or more experts agreeing to include or exclude an element. We determined a priori that no more than 3 rounds of voting would be performed.ResultsOf the 195 curricular elements considered in the first round of voting, the group reached consensus to include 78 and exclude 24. In the second round, consensus was reached to include 4 and exclude 63 elements. In our final round, with 1 additional item added to the survey, the group reached consensus to include an additional 3 and exclude 8 elements. A total of 85 curricular elements reached consensus to be included, with 95 to be excluded. Sixteen elements did not reach consensus to be included or excluded.ConclusionsBy expert opinion‐based consensus, the Canadian Ultrasound Consensus for Undergraduate Medical Education Group recommends that 85 curricular elements be considered for inclusion for teaching in the Canadian medical school focused ultrasound curricula.

Background: With the various applications of point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) steadily increasing, many medical schools across North America are incorporating PoCUS training into their undergraduate curricula. The Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University also intends to introduce PoCUS training into its own undergraduate medical program. The proposed approach is to introduce a PoCUS curriculum focusing on anatomy and physiology while developing cognitive and psychomotor skills that are later transferred into clinical applications. This has been the common approach taken by most undergraduate ultrasound programs in the United States. This project highlights the development and the challenges involved in creating an objective assessment tool that meets the unique needs of this proposed undergraduate ultrasound curriculum.Methods: After a thorough review of existing literature and input from experts in PoCUS, a prototype global rating scale (GRS) and three exam-specific checklists were created by researchers. The exam-specific checklists include aorta exam, subxiphoid cardiac exam, and focused abdominal exam. A panel of 18 emergency room physicians certified in PoCUS were recruited to evaluate the GRS and three checklists. This was accomplished using a modified Delphi technique. The items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale. If an item received a mean score of less than 4, it was deemed unimportant for the assessment of PoCUS performance in undergraduate medical learners and was excluded. Experts were also encouraged to provide comments and suggest further items to be added to the GRS or checklists. Items were modified according to these comments. All of the edits were then sent back to the experts for revisions.Results: A consensus was achieved after three rounds of surveys, with the final GRS containing nine items. The final aorta checklist contained nine items, and the subxiphoid cardiac and focused abdominal checklists each contained 11 items.Conclusion: By using a modified Delphi technique, we developed a single GRS and three checklists. A panel of independent PoCUS practitioners supports the content validity of these tools. Research is currently ongoing to evaluate their validity for assessing PoCUS competency in undergraduate medical students.

BackgroundThe introduction of ultrasound into the undergraduate medical school curriculum is gaining momentum in North America. At present, many institutions are teaching ultrasound to undergraduate medical students using a traditional framework designed to instruct practicing clinicians, or have modeled the curriculum on other universities. This approach is not based on educational needs or supported by evidence.MethodsUsing a descriptive, cross-sectional survey of stakeholder groups, we assessed the perceived relevance of various ultrasound skills and the attitude towards implementing an undergraduate ultrasound curriculum at our university.ResultsOne hundred and fifty survey respondents representing all major stakeholder groups participated. All medical students, 97% of residents and 82% of educators agreed that the introduction of an ultrasound curriculum would enhance medical students' understanding of anatomy and physiology. All clinical medical students and residents, 92% of preclinical medical students, and 82% of educators agreed that the curriculum should also include clinical applications of ultrasound. Participants also indicated their preferences for specific curriculum content based on their perceived needs.ConclusionAn integrated undergraduate ultrasound curriculum composed of specific preclinical and clinical applications was deemed appropriate for our university following a comprehensive needs assessment. Other universities planning such curricula should consider employing a needs assessment to provide direction for curriculum need and content.

As of January 2019, over half of all doctors working in Canada under the age of 40 were women. Despite equal representation in the profession of medicine, women still experience harassment, discrimination, and pay inequity when compared to their male colleagues. Gender discrimination is present at all levels of medical training and negatively impacts women who want to become emergency physicians. The right to gender equity is part of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The World Health Organization states that "gender inequities are socially generated and, therefore, can be changed." CAEP recognizes that gender equity is important to its members and that it intersects with inequities experienced by other minority groups. This position statement from the committee for Women in Emergency Medicine (EM) is intended to support women and those who identify as women who have chosen EM as their career. Furthermore, it is meant to inform and support policy makers as they consider the unique challenges that women face in their pursuit of excellence in EM. Keywords Emergency medicine • Gender equity • Discrimination • Gender pay gap RésuméEn janvier 2019, plus de la moitié des médecins de moins de 40 ans travaillant au Canada étaient des femmes. Malgré une représentation égale dans la profession médicale, les femmes sont toujours victimes de harcèlement, de discrimination et d'inégalités salariales par rapport à leurs collègues masculins. La discrimination sexuelle est présente à tous les niveaux de la formation médicale et a un impact négatif sur les femmes qui veulent devenir médecins urgentistes. Le droit à l'égalité des sexes fait partie de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés. L'Organisation mondiale de la santé affirme que "les inégalités entre les sexes sont générées par la société et peuvent donc être modifiées". L'ACMU reconnaît que l'égalité des sexes est importante pour ses membres et qu'elle recoupe les inégalités vécues par d'autres groupes minoritaires. Cette déclaration de position du comité pour les femmes en médecine d'urgence (MU) est destinée à soutenir les femmes et ceux qui s'identifient comme femmes ayant choisi l'EM comme carrière. En outre, elle est destinée à informer et à soutenir les décideurs politiques dans leur réflexion sur les défis uniques auxquels les femmes sont confrontées dans leur quête d'excellence en matière de médecine d'urgence.Please note that this position statement has been reviewed and approved by the CAEP membership, the CAEP public affairs committee and the CAEP board of directors.

The objective of this study is to identify the top five most influential papers published on focused assessment with sonography in trauma (FAST) and the top five most influential papers on the extended FAST (E-FAST) in adult patients. MethodsAn expert panel was recruited from the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) Emergency Ultrasound Committee and the Canadian Ultrasound Fellowship Collaborative. These experts are ultrasound fellowship-trained or equivalent, are involved with point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) research and scholarship, and are leaders in both the POCUS program at their local site and within the national Canadian POCUS community. This 14-member expert group used a modified Delphi process consisting of three rounds of sequential surveys and discussion to achieve consensus on the top five most influential papers for FAST and E-FAST. ResultsThe expert panel identified 56 relevant papers on FAST and 40 relevant papers on E-FAST. After completing all three rounds of the modified Delphi process, the authors identified the top five most influential papers on FAST and the top five most influential papers on E-FAST. ConclusionWe have developed a reading list of the top five influential papers for FAST and E-FAST that will benefit residents, fellows, and clinicians who are interested in using POCUS in an evidence-informed manner.