Ferreira Karen, Hendrikse Clint, Zaayman Heinri, Erasmus Elaine, Van Hoving Daniël J
Department of Family, Community and Emergency Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.
S Afr Fam Pract (2004). 2025 Jul 16;67(1):e1-e7. doi: 10.4102/safp.v67i1.6151.
Point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) is a core competency in emergency medicine, and its use in other primary healthcare settings is growing. The study investigates the PoCUS competency, training and qualifications of doctors working in public emergency departments.
An online survey was distributed to doctors at five public Cape Town emergency departments, followed by a practical assessment of an Extended Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (eFAST) and a basic cardiac ultrasound examination. Descriptive and inferential statistics are presented.
All participants had attended an in-person PoCUS course before, and 45 (83.3%) were trained by supervisors at work. Eleven participants (20.4%) were credentialled. In the practical assessment, 73.5% were rated as competent in eFAST and 55.9% in basic cardiac ultrasound. The median scores were 80.4% (eFAST) and 76.9% (cardiac ultrasound). Credentialled participants were more likely to achieve a pass mark ( 60%) in eFAST (p 0.001) and cardiac ultrasound (p 0.001).
All the emergency department doctors who use PoCUS had received formal PoCUS training, and the majority of PoCUS providers had an adequate skill level in the applications tested. The credentialled providers performed better overall. There is a need for further research to investigate the persistently low credentialling rate and potential solutions, not only among practitioners in emergency departments but also generalists and primary care practitioners.Contribution: Our study provides a unique snapshot of the PoCUS skills of junior doctors and trainees in public Cape Town emergency departments.
床旁超声（PoCUS）是急诊医学的一项核心能力，其在其他基层医疗环境中的应用也在不断增加。本研究调查了在公共急诊科工作的医生的PoCUS能力、培训情况和资质。
向开普敦五个公共急诊科的医生发放了一份在线调查问卷，随后对创伤超声重点评估扩展版（eFAST）和基本心脏超声检查进行了实践评估。呈现了描述性和推断性统计数据。
所有参与者之前都参加过面对面的PoCUS课程，45名（83.3%）在工作中接受了上级的培训。11名参与者（20.4%）获得了资质认证。在实践评估中，73.5%的人在eFAST评估中被评为合格，55.9%的人在基本心脏超声评估中被评为合格。中位数得分分别为80.4%（eFAST）和76.9%（心脏超声）。获得资质认证的参与者在eFAST（p < 0.001）和心脏超声（p < 0.001）中更有可能达到及格分数（60%）。
所有使用PoCUS的急诊科医生都接受过正规的PoCUS培训，并且大多数PoCUS提供者在所测试的应用方面具有足够的技能水平。获得资质认证的提供者总体表现更好。有必要进行进一步研究，以调查不仅在急诊科医生中，而且在全科医生和初级保健医生中持续较低的资质认证率以及潜在的解决方案。贡献：我们的研究提供了开普敦公共急诊科初级医生和实习生PoCUS技能的独特概况。
