February 21, 2023 — A study published for the March 2023 issue of Journal of Radiology Nursing demonstrates that a short training course in Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) can measurably improve physician knowledge in under-resourced regions. The Mission POCUS in Haiti study focused on training and documenting the effectiveness of a short POCUS training course supported by the Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certification Academy (PCA), an education and certification arm of Inteleos, a non-profit global healthcare certification organization.
The intensive training included 24 hours of hands-on training and lectures with more than 100 patients scanned. Physicians participated in a pretest to assess their baseline knowledge of POCUS. A post-test was conducted immediately following the intensive training to assess improvement. Of the 15 participants, 11 physicians showed improvement (by an average of 8%) in their test scores after training.
PCA members, Victor V. Rao, MBBS, DMRD, RDMS, James DellaValle, MD, Gedeon Gelin, MD, and James Day BA, RDCS, RVT, traveled to Haiti to train 15 local physicians interested in better serving patients using POCUS to assess cardiac conditions. The team provided a three-day basic cardiac POCUS training on physics, instrumentation, and basic echocardiography. The effort is part of PCA's MissionPOCUS, an annual global initiative to expand the reach of POCUS to under-resourced areas around the world.
As part of the volunteer effort, PCA arranged for textbook donations, loaned ultrasound equipment and other supplies, and three clinicians from PCA traveled to Haiti for the training event.
"I was opening my local clinic, Polyclinique Universitaire St Jean Baptiste in Haiti, and my goal was to empower our local clinicians by training them in POCUS. I learned about PCA's Mission POCUS and reached out for help. The importance of having educated and certified clinicians serving our communities is beyond measure," said Gelin. "We have seen a measurable difference in the care we provide to our patients."
"We were thrilled to be part of Dr. Gelin's efforts to help bring additional training to local clinicians, while helping improve patient care and safety," said Dr. DellaValle "Training expert generalists in underdeveloped countries and rural regions will prove to have a significant impact on global patient care."
"Studies like this are very valuable as we look to improve care in underserved regions across the globe," said Torrey Smith, Global Director, Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certification Academy at Inteleos. "We are encouraged by the results and will look for opportunities to replicate this type of training and expand it in other regions."
For more information: https://www.inteleos.org/
April 17, 2024 
