• Venkatesh R Bellamkonda, Hamid Shokoohi, Abdulmohsen Alsaawi, Ru Ding, Ronna L Campbell, Yiju Teresa Liu, and Keith S Boniface.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
• Emerg Med J. 2015 Oct 1; 32 (10): 804-8.

ObjectiveTo describe the credentialing systems of North American emergency department systems (EDS) with emergency ultrasound (EUS) fellowship programmes.MethodsThis is a prospective, cross-sectional, survey-based study of North American EUS fellowships using a 62-item, pilot-tested, web-based survey instrument assessing credentialing and training systems. The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) distributed the surveys using SNAP survey (Snap Surveys Ltd, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA).ResultsOver 6 months, 75 eligible programmes were surveyed, 55 responded (73% response rate); 1 declined to participate leaving 54 participating programmes. Less than 20% of EDS credential nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and students in EUS. Respondent EDS reported having an average of 4.2 ± 3.3 ultrasound faculty members (faculty identifying their career focus as EUS). The median number of annual point-of-care ultrasounds reported was 5000 (IQR 3000-8000). 30 EDS (56%) credential each examination individually and 48 EDS (89%) use ACEP credentialing criteria. 61% of fellowship leadership believe their credentialing system is either satisfactory or very satisfactory (Cronbach's coefficient α=0.84).ConclusionsThe data show heterogeneity among North American EDS with EUS fellowship programmes with regard to credentialing systems despite published guidelines from the ACEP and Canadian Emergency Ultrasound Society.Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

22 keywords...

hide…