Ultrasound Simulation or Traditional Ultrasound Training for General Practitioners?

Official title

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

Overview

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.

Interventions

• Other Simulation based clinical ultrasound education
  At the two hands-on teaching seminars, GPs in the intervention arm will receive training in five different clinical ultrasound examinations using an ultrasound phantom and an ultrasound simulator (Simbionix U/S Mentor). At the start of the first course day (8 hours), three basic modules will be conducted on the simulator, aimed at training hand-eye coordination and developing fundamental skills in probe movement, enhancing three-dimensional perception, and learning to use the various settings on
• Other Traditional ultrasound education
  At the two hands-on teaching seminars, GPs in the control arm will receive training in five different clinical ultrasound examinations as according to an established and validated training program. At the start of the first course day (8 hours), the five clinical ultrasound examinations will be trained using healthy volunteers and still pictures for visualizing pathology. On the second course day (4 hours), the participants will train by repeating the five clinical ultrasound examinations on hea

Primary outcome measures

• Mean OSAUS sum score across all five POCUS applications (min-max: 7-35) [Time frame: At the third teaching seminar (day 90)]

Eligibility criteria

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.

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Single blind

Primary purpose

Health services research

Study locations

Denmark · 1 center

• NordSim — Aalborg

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07127588 · 262-1

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗