Rizzolo Denise, Krackov Rachel E
Denise Rizzolo, PhD, PA-C, is an assessment and evaluation specialist for the Physician Assistant Education Association in Washington, DC, and an assistant clinical professor for the Pace University Physician Assistant Program in New York, New York. Rachel E. Krackov, PhD, MPAS, PA-C, RVS, is the Director of Physician Assistant POCUS Education and adjunct professor for the four physician assistant programs of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
J Physician Assist Educ. 2019 Jun;30(2):103-110. doi: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000251.
Over the past 10 years, successful ultrasound integration into medical education has resulted in 8 residencies and 52 undergraduate medical schools requiring ultrasound training for graduation. Physician assistants (PAs) are trained in the medical model, yet very little is known about the integration of ultrasound into their curricula. This study examined how ultrasound is used, if at all, in the PA education curricula.
Physician assistant program directors (PDs) were sent a survey addressing ultrasound integration into their curricula. Questions focused on the use of ultrasound to teach didactic courses and on inclusion of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) scanning skills as an adjunct to the physical examination. The survey also asked about students' feelings toward ultrasound integration into the curricula.
Investigators contacted 201 PDs, and 107 (53.2%) PDs responded. Twenty-five of the respondents (23.4%) reported using ultrasound in the basic sciences. The top 3 reasons for not including ultrasound in preclinical courses were no ultrasound machine, expense, and no faculty trained in ultrasound. Seventy-three of the respondents (68.2%) thought that POCUS scanning skills should be included in the curriculum. More than 83% felt that faculty or adjunct faculty should teach those skills.
This survey demonstrated that there is great interest in integrating ultrasound into the PA curriculum but that many challenges inhibit implementation. Lack of access to ultrasound machines and to trained faculty are the biggest challenges to integrating ultrasound into the PA curriculum. Physician assistant programs face content and competency challenges similar to those that medical schools face, as well as several challenges that are unique to PA education. Future research is needed to address these issues.
在过去10年里，超声已成功融入医学教育，有8个住院医师培训项目和52所本科医学院校要求学生毕业前接受超声培训。医师助理（PA）接受医学模式培训，但对于超声融入其课程的情况却知之甚少。本研究调查了超声在医师助理教育课程中的使用情况（若有使用的话）。
向医师助理项目主任发送了一份关于超声融入其课程的调查问卷。问题聚焦于使用超声教授理论课程以及将床旁超声（POCUS）扫描技能纳入体格检查辅助手段的情况。该调查还询问了学生对超声融入课程的看法。
研究人员联系了201名项目主任，107名（53.2%）项目主任进行了回复。25名受访者（23.4%）报告在基础科学课程中使用了超声。临床前课程未纳入超声的前三大原因是没有超声设备、费用问题以及没有接受过超声培训的教员。73名受访者（68.2%）认为课程应纳入POCUS扫描技能。超过83%的人认为应由教员或兼职教员教授这些技能。
本次调查表明，将超声融入医师助理课程的兴趣浓厚，但诸多挑战阻碍了实施。无法获得超声设备和缺乏训练有素的教员是将超声融入医师助理课程的最大挑战。医师助理项目面临着与医学院类似的内容和能力挑战，以及一些医师助理教育特有的挑战。需要未来的研究来解决这些问题。
