Introduction: Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has become essential in the
management of critically ill patients. Multiple POCUS training courses exist, but are
not widely adopted in Singapore. Given the discordance between training supply and
demand, we aimed to uncover the learning needs and barriers among intensive care
medicine (ICM) doctors locally. Materials and Methods: An anonymous online survey
was carried out from January to April 2019 among ICM doctors from 6 major teaching
hospitals in Singapore. Results: 66 out of 160 ICM specialists and trainees responded
(41.3%). Although only 6% of respondents had current formal POCUS accreditation,
the majority were already using critical care echocardiography (CCE) and pleural/
lung ultrasound. 93% supported having a local training programme. More than 50% of
trainees wanted training in CCE, diaphragm/muscle ultrasound, airway ultrasound and
ultrasound for neurological disease. More than 50% of specialists wanted training in
diaphragm/muscle ultrasound, with mixed interests in other topics. The top 2 obstacles
hindering POCUS training were lack of supervisors and locally based programmes.
Conclusions: ICM doctors who responded were supportive of a local POCUS training
programme. The programme’s curriculum should address the learning needs of the
majority of learners, with diaphragm/muscle ultrasound being the top unmet need. The
programme would need to develop supervisors and be as affordable as possible.
Keywords: Continuing medical education, Cross-sectional survey, Intensive
Care, Ultrasound
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