Allied Health and Human Performance, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.
Heart Lung Circ. 2024 Jul;33(7):1067-1073. doi: 10.1016/j.hlc.2024.01.027. Epub 2024 Mar 7.
BACKGROUND & AIM: Echocardiography education involves the teaching and assessment of multiple competencies to ensure work-ready graduates. To connect these competency standards to professional practice, it is important that the industry expectation around specific entrustable professional activities (EPAs) is determined. In Australia, echocardiography examinations are eligible for Medicare reimbursement when performed by sonographers listed on the Australian Sonographers Accreditation Registry (ASAR), either as an Accredited Medical Sonographer or as an Accredited Student Sonographer. A key criterion for acceptance onto the registry is the completion of, or active enrolment in, an accredited cardiac sonography course. Eligible courses apply for accreditation and are assessed by ASAR against their Standards for Accreditation of Sonographer Courses. This study sought to investigate the existing cardiac EPAs and provide insights into the industry's expectations for graduate cardiac sonographers in Australia.
Using an anonymous online survey tool, an invitation to participate was circulated via professional sonography groups and social media platforms. Accredited Medical Sonographers, Accredited Student Sonographers or interested stakeholders (academic, employer, medical specialist) working in Australia or New Zealand were invited to complete the survey. Survey questions were structured around the existing EPAs and knowledge items described in published sonography competency documents. Participants were asked if each individual EPA should be considered appropriate at the threshold of graduation, or at a higher level following a period of working in the profession.
There were 211 cardiac sonographers who completed the survey. The majority of respondents (148 of 211, 72.2%) indicated that the current EPAs should be updated. At 80% agreement, the following EPAs were considered essential for the graduate: left ventricular structure and function, right ventricular structure and function, atrial size, valvular disease, systemic hypertension, cardiomyopathies, diseases of the aorta, coronary artery disease, pulmonic hypertension, and basic congenital heart disease. This list is more extensive than the current ASAR-endorsed EPAs, and the findings in this research will guide the revision of current ASAR-endorsed EPAs for graduate-level cardiac sonography.
The results of this study show Accredited Medical Sonographers completing a cardiac sonography course in Australia should be entrusted to perform a wide range of examinations however, greater alignment between educational providers, ASAR and industry is still required.
超声心动图教育涉及多项能力的教学和评估，以确保毕业生具备工作能力。为了将这些能力标准与专业实践联系起来，确定特定可委托专业活动（EPAs）的行业期望非常重要。在澳大利亚，由澳大利亚超声师注册处（ASAR）注册的超声师进行的超声心动图检查有资格获得医疗保险报销，这些超声师要么是认证的医学超声师，要么是认证的学生超声师。注册的一个关键标准是完成或正在注册认可的心脏超声课程。符合条件的课程申请认证，并由 ASAR 根据其超声师课程认证标准进行评估。本研究旨在调查现有的心脏 EPA，并深入了解澳大利亚对毕业心脏超声师的行业期望。
使用匿名在线调查工具，通过专业超声师团体和社交媒体平台发布参与邀请。邀请在澳大利亚或新西兰工作的认证医学超声师、认证学生超声师或感兴趣的利益相关者（学术、雇主、医学专家）完成调查。调查问题围绕现有的 EPA 和已发表的超声师能力文件中描述的知识项目构建。参与者被要求回答每个单独的 EPA 是否应在毕业门槛时被认为是合适的，或者在从事该专业一段时间后是否应在更高水平上被认为是合适的。
共有 211 名心脏超声师完成了调查。大多数受访者（211 名中的 148 名，72.2%）表示当前的 EPA 需要更新。在 80%的一致性下，以下 EPA 被认为是毕业生必备的：左心室结构和功能、右心室结构和功能、心房大小、瓣膜疾病、系统性高血压、心肌病、主动脉疾病、冠状动脉疾病、肺动脉高压和基本先天性心脏病。这一清单比目前 ASAR 认可的 EPA 更广泛，本研究的结果将指导对当前 ASAR 认可的毕业级心脏超声 EPA 的修订。
这项研究的结果表明，在澳大利亚完成心脏超声课程的认证医学超声师应被委托进行广泛的检查，但教育提供者、ASAR 和行业之间仍需要更大的一致性。
