Evaluating the role of traditional and nontraditional educational resources in point-of-care ultrasound training: A cross-sectional survey of educator preferences and practices

Background: Recently, nontraditional educational resources like podcasts, blogs, and online media have gained prominence in medical education and are abundant within the field of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). However, the extent to which POCUS educators utilize online resources compared to traditional resources, like textbooks, journal articles, and in-person workshops, is unknown. We aim to define which types of educational resources are used and preferred by POCUS educators to teach trainees. Methods: An expert working group developed a survey aimed to characterize the types of materials used by POCUS educators and their perceived importance on a 6-point forced ranking scale. We administered the survey to POCUS educators at the 2023 Society for Clinical Ultrasound Fellowships conference. Responses were analyzed using random-effects regression analyses. Results: Sixty-two participants completed the questionnaire. In-person workshops (mean importance 5.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.8–5.4) and online media (mean importance 4.8, 95% CI 4.4–5.1) were ranked as the most important resources for POCUS education overall, though not statistically different from each other (p > 0.001). Journal articles (mean importance 3.4, 95% CI 2.2–4.6), eBooks (mean importance 2.9, 95% CI 1.4–4.4), and podcasts (mean importance 2.8, 95% CI 1.5–4.1) were found to be of moderate importance and were not statistically different from each other. Respondents reported that textbooks were of least importance (mean importance 2.1, 95% CI 0.7–3.5). Conclusions: POCUS educators view nontraditional educational materials with great importance, though in-person workshops remain the mainstay of POCUS education. POCUS educators utilize nontraditional educational materials and consider them more important than textbooks within POCUS curricula.