Transfer from point-of-care Ultrasonography training to diagnostic performance on patients—a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Clinicians are increasingly using point-of-care ultrasonography for bedside examinations of patients. However, proper training is needed in this technique, and it is unknown whether the skills learned from focused Ultrasonography courses are being transferred to diagnostic performance on patients. Methods Thirty-one physicians were randomized to participate in a focused Ultrasonography course or control circumstances before they examined 4 patients with different abdominal conditions by ultrasonography. Performance scores and diagnostic accuracy were compared using independent samples t test and binary logistic regression, respectively. Results There was a significant difference in the performance score between the intervention group (27.4%) and the control group (18.0%, P = .004) and the diagnostic accuracy between the intervention group (65%) and the control group (39%, P = .014). Conclusions Clinicians could successfully transfer learning from an Ultrasonography course to improve diagnostic performance on patients. However, our results also indicate a need for more training when new technologies such as point-of-care ultrasonography are introduced.