Emergency physicians, who had been trained to use focused echo in 50 advanced life support (ALS) scenarios, have been shown to gain adequate views in 94% of cases. Most importantly 90% gained these within the 10 second pulse check window.
The College of Emergency Medicine takes the view that theoretical training is essential (eg this e-learning session), and following this, practical workplace training should take place, followed by a workplace based assessment (“Triggered Assessment”). Absolute numbers of scans are not considered important, but rather the demonstration of appropriate skills.
Learning bite
The majority of EP’s gain an informative cardiac view within the 10 second pulse check window