Abdominal Assessment Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS): Curriculum Development

Kasey Watts, RN, DNP, CRNA

DNP Nurse Anesthesia 

Abdominal Assessment Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS): Curriculum Development

Project Category: Evidence Implementation

Project Team:  Kasey Watts, DNP, CNRA, Janella Manalang, DNP, CRNA, Franklin McShane, DNP, CRNA (Advisor)

Abstract

Background: Anesthesia providers have recently seen a growing interest in abdominal point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) implementation in the perioperative period. Abdominal POCUS serves multiple purposes including identification of pathological sonoanatomy and gastric content assessment. In addition, Council on Accreditation (COA) of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs has mandated programs to develop POCUS curriculum and training. Thus, an abdominal POCUS curriculum with an in-person ultrasound scanning day was developed to address this gap. 

Methods: An evidence-based introductory abdominal POCUS curriculum was developed for nurse anesthesia residents (NARs). The curriculum consisted of in-person lecture, PowerPoint presentation, fluency skills checklist, followed by hands-on scanning. Data was collected via Qualtrics, following the completion of the ultrasound curriculum to assess perception and effectiveness of the content delivery. 

Results: 38 second year NARs participated in the training. The post-lecture survey revealed that 78.9% of respondents strongly agreed that the abdominal and gastric ultrasound content met their educational needs, with 84.2% of respondents strongly agreeing that the content increased their overall interest in POCUS. Additionally, 88.9% of respondents strongly agreed that this content should be included in the nurse anesthesia curriculum even if it was not required by the COA. 

Conclusion: Point-of-care ultrasound continues to penetrate the anesthesia profession, including its use for abdominal and gastric content assessment. Delivering an introductory abdominal POCUS curriculum to NARs, that includes lecture and hands-on scanning, should be incorporated into the existing nurse anesthesia curriculum at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

Full Manuscript Slide Presentation Video