Focused Ultrasound: Applications and Implications for Education

Abstract

Introduction:

Focused or point of care ultrasound applications have been integrated into prehospital assessments, triage capacities, military applications, trauma, and emergency health care settings, and medical school curriculums. Often, the inclusion of focused ultrasound is to answer specific clinical questions. However, the value is ultimately determined by the experience, skills, and training of the operator performing and interpreting the examination. Ultrasound was reserved for traditional imaging providers as little as two decades ago. However, as the application of ultrasound expands within clinical medicine, there is an increasing necessity for associated education and training.

Aim:

To highlight the applications and uses of focused ultrasound in the current diverse health care landscape while identifying the associated educational considerations, including the undergraduate tertiary education sector.

Methods:

A search of peer-reviewed published literature was undertaken to determine the range of current usage of ultrasound imaging across professions, and to identify the education and training available.

Results:

The results discussed within this presentation will highlight identified trends, ultrasound applications, educational considerations, and potential future practices based on the content of the literature explored.

Discussion:

Technology is rapidly advancing in the field of medical ultrasound with handheld ultrasound scanners now smaller, less expensive, and more accessible than ever before. Paralleled with these advances and the more generous use of ultrasound come the expectation and pressures of competent skill diversity among healthcare staff and specialists. Significantly, sonography is still considered by many as the most technically demanding and operator dependent medical imaging modality available. Therefore, as the application of ultrasound expands within clinical medicine, educational considerations must also align with this expansion to maintain diagnostic accuracy. This means an increasing demand for associated education and training, including in the undergraduate tertiary education sector.