Ultrasound Simulation or Traditional Ultrasound Training for General Practitioners?

Continuing Education of General Practitioners in Clinical Ultrasound - Ultrasound Simulation or Traditional Ultrasound Training?

The goal of this study is to compare two different educational methods for training general practitioners (GPs) in point-of-care ultrasound. The main question it aims to answer is:

- Does the use of ultrasound phantoms and simulators result in superior post-course ultrasound skills compared to traditional training methods involving healthy volunteers? Researchers will compare a group trained with traditional methods (scanning healthy volunteers) to a group trained using ultrasound phantoms and simulators to see if the different training methods result in different levels of ultrasound proficiency.

Participants will:

• Be 24 general practitioners randomized into two groups of 12.
• Receive training in five clinical ultrasound examinations: 1) Aortic abdominal aneurism, 2) gallstones, 3) pleural effusion, 4) hydronephrosis, and 5) free fluid in the abdomen (FAST scan).
• Begin with e-learning, followed by two in-person teaching seminars.
• Train at their clinics between course days: first on healthy volunteers, then on indicated patients.
• Upload scans to an online learning platform and receive feedback from instructors.
• Be assessed after 90 days using the validated Objective Structured Assessment of Ultrasound Skills (OSAUS) tool, with blinded evaluators.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The participant must be a postgraduate medical doctor specialized in general medicine/family medicine (general practitioner).
• The participant must have access to an ultrasound device during the study period.

Exclusion Criteria:

• General practitioners who have already participated in a basic point-of-care ultrasound education for general practitioners.
• General practitioners with potential conflicts of interest.
• Individuals with no signed informed consent to participate.