Introduction Increasingly, medical schools are integrating Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) into their curricula. This review investigated the available literature on how best to integrate POCUS in the teaching of medical students and the benefits of doing so. Methods Given the heterogeneous literature that has emerged on POCUS education, a scoping review was conducted. Relevant medical databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE and CINAHL, were searched between January 1980 and August 2016, using keywords identified by the authors. Inclusion criteria were as follows: prospective or retrospective studies, observational or intervention studies, and studies describing how medical students learn to use ultrasound. Results The literature search yielded 593 articles, of which 128 met the inclusion criteria. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were sub-categorised under the following headings: those that described or evaluated an ultrasound curriculum, those that employed ultrasound as a means of teaching another topic in the curriculum (i.e., anatomy, physical examination, physiology, invasive procedures), those that investigated the learning curve of ultrasound education and those that employed adjuncts or peer mentoring to teach ultrasound. Conclusions The reviewed literature indicates that the integration of ultrasound in undergraduate medical education is both feasible and beneficial to medical students. This article is intended to inform medical educators aiming to integrate ultrasound into their medical school curricula.
Objectives: Irish adolescents have one of the highest rates of suicide and self-harm in the European Union. Although primary care has been identified as an opportune environment in which to detect and treat mental health problems in adolescents, lack of training among primary care professionals (PCPs) is a barrier to optimum identification and treatment. We describe the development and evaluation of an educational intervention on youth mental health and substance misuse for PCPs.
Methods:Thirty general practitioners and other PCPs working in the Mid-West region participated in an educational session on youth-friendly consultations, and identification and treatment of mental ill-health and substance use. Learning objectives were addressed through a presentation, video demonstration, small-group discussions, role play, question-and-answer sessions with clinical experts, and an information pack. Following the session, participants completed an evaluation form assessing knowledge gain and usefulness of different components of the session.Results: 71% of participants were involved in the provision of care to young people. 55% had no previous training in youth mental health or substance abuse. Participants rated knowledge gains as highest with regard to understanding the importance of early intervention, and primary care, in youth mental health. The components rated as most useful were case studies/small group discussion, the 'question-and-answer session' with clinical experts, and peer interaction.
Conclusions:The educational session outlined in this pilot was feasible and acceptable and may represent an effective way to train professionals to help tackle the current crisis in youth mental health.
BackgroundStudying variability in the care provided to secondary prevention coronary heart disease (CHD) outpatients can identify interventions to improve their outcomes.MethodsWe studied outpatients who had an index CHD event in the preceding 6–24 months. Eligible CHD events included acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and coronary revascularisation for stable chronic coronary syndrome (CCS). Site training was provided by a core team and data were collected using standardised methods.ResultsBetween 2017 and 2019, we enrolled 721 outpatients at nine Irish study sites; 81% were men and mean age was 63.9 (SD ±8.9) years. The study examination occurred a median of 1.16 years after the index CHD event, which was ACS in 399 participants (55%) and stable-CCS in 322. On examination, 42.5% had blood pressure (BP) >140/90 mm Hg, 63.7% had low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) >1.8 mmol/L and 44.1% of known diabetics had an HbA1c >7%. There was marked variability in risk factor control, both by study site and, in particular, by index presentation type. For example, 82% of outpatients with prior-ACS had attended cardiac rehabilitation versus 59% outpatients with prior-CCS (p<0.001) and there were also large differences in control of traditional risk factors like LDL-C (p=0.002) and systolic BP (p<0.001) among outpatients with prior-ACS versus prior-CCS as the index presentation.ConclusionsDespite international secondary prevention guidelines broadly recommending the same risk factor targets for all adults with CHD, we found marked differences in outpatient risk factor control and management on the basis of hospital location and index CHD presentation type (acute vs chronic). These findings highlight the need to reduce hospital-level and patient-level variability in preventive care to improve outcomes; a lesson that should inform CHD prevention programmes in Ireland and around the world.
Introduction
General practice has a key role in diagnosing patients with valvular heart disease (VHD) and referring them to appropriate services.
Methods
An anonymous survey was conducted to assess the knowledge and clinical practice behaviour of Irish general practitioners (GPs) in relation to VHD. In addition to demographic data, the survey captured information in the following domains: knowledge of VHD prevalence, knowledge of contemporary VHD treatments, barriers to diagnosis, and referral patterns. To augment responses, a monetary prize (donated to charity) was offered and the survey was also disseminated using social media and by the Irish College of General Practitioners.
Results
Valid survey responses were received from 197 GPs. The sample was well-balanced by gender, number of years in practice, and practice setting. A small proportion of GPs (16.8%) used a stethoscope to examine for VHD in all patients over 60 years, a figure that rose to 22.3% in patients over 75. Approximately half of participants (48%) felt confident in their ability to detect and diagnose VHD using a stethoscope, and 74% felt lack of access to echocardiography was a major barrier to making a VHD diagnosis. There was a high level of awareness among GPs of minimally invasive nonsurgical interventions now available for VHD treatment.
Discussion
Irish GPs displayed good understanding of contemporary VHD treatment options but reported low confidence and inconsistent practices in evaluating patients for VHD. Improved access to echocardiography might help address these deficiencies, but reorganisation of services will be required in a resource-limited public health service.
Graphical abstract
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