Teaching Flight Nurses Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Esophageal Intubation and Pneumothorax

Abstract

Aeromedical prehospital care has seen an increase in the use of point-of-care-ultrasound (POCUS) in recent years. Prior research has focused on abdominal trauma exams by physician or advanced practice providers. In this study, we describe the implementation of an ultrasound curriculum designed for Flight Nurse assessment of pneumothorax and esophageal intubation. The study team conducted three one-hour training sessions over two months. The training curriculum included didactic and hands-on components. We enrolled twelve flight nurses with no prior ultrasound experience. A pre- and post-test was administered consisting of fifteen questions. The median pre-test score was seven correct for an average of 45.0%. After the training session, the median post-test score was fourteen correct for an average of 90.6%. The training intervention resulted in an average improvement in score of 45.6%. While not examining skill acquisition, we are encouraged by the implementation of this curriculum for future ultrasound education in esophageal intubation and pneumothorax.