UK national survey of thoracic ultrasound in respiratory registrars

Abstract

-Thoracic ultrasound training has become part of the respiratory medicine curriculum. Data on training, access to teaching and achievement of competency in thoracic ultrasound by respiratory specialty trainees are scarce. Using the web-based kwiksurveys, we surveyed current respiratory specialty trainees (STs) in the UK. 177 responses were recorded. Nearly three-quarters of trainees had access to bedside ultrasound but only 15.3% had regular ultrasound training. Overall, 28.8% had achieved level 1 competency but only 44.4% of trainees at ST6 and above were level 1 competent. The majority of respiratory trainees have access to thoracic ultrasound but structured training is limited, with only a small proportion of trainees attaining level 1. More structured training and mentoring is needed to enable trainees to achieve the required competencies.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS): unnecessary gadgetry or evidence-based medicine?

“…This has been seen in respiratory medicine where despite thoracic ultrasound being a mandatory part of the curriculum, trainees have reported difficulties in getting formally signed off. 43 In order to overcome this barrier for POCUS, there would have to be a concerted effort to develop it as an integral part of the internal medicine training curriculum, and invest time and money in supporting a cohort of trainers to deliver that training. There is certainly an appetite among acute internal medicine trainees to learn POCUS as a core part of their curriculum.…”

Focused Acute Medicine Ultrasound (FAMUS): uptake, completion and barriers to accreditation after two years

“…The former is an issue that is acknowledged widely within the POCUS community and hampers even established training pathways such as within Respiratory Medicine. 2 Since the survey was undertaken there has been a concerted effort to increase the pool of available supervisors (98 registered as of September 2020), and there is now at least one supervisor in every region of the UK. We hypothesise that the differential attainment rate in accreditation by region (table 1) may be related to differences in numbers of supervisors in each region, as at the time of the survey not all regions had registered supervisors.…”

Physician‐performed chest ultrasound: progress and future directions

“…The majority (80%) of advanced trainees had access to adequate supervision for pleural procedures in 2016; in the United Kingdom, although three quarters of trainees in a recent survey had access to ultrasound, only 15% had regular ultrasound training …”

“…Between February and May 2016, 317 adult respiratory physicians in Australia and New Zealand on the register of an Australasian thoracic professional society were invited to complete an online survey. The survey was similar to one performed in 2011, permitting direct comparison across the intervening 5 years …”