Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39752091›Full record

ArticleCJEM2025

The ultrasound competency assessment tool for evaluation of early pregnancy with POCUS.

Colin Bell, Natalie Wagner, Andrew Hall, Joseph Newbigging, Louise Rang, Tatiana Vukadinovic, Conor McKaigney

Abstract readEvaluation StudyMulticenter Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in CJEM, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Colin BellDepartment of Emergency Medicine and Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada. Colinbell85@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-6416-8537
Natalie WagnerDepartment of Biomedical & Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Andrew HallDepartment of Emergency Medicine, The Ottawa Hospital and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Joseph NewbiggingDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Louise RangDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Tatiana VukadinovicDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Conor McKaigneyDepartment of Emergency Medicine and Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesPOCUS is a core emergency medicine skill and mainstay of early pregnancy assessment. The ultrasound competency assessment tool was developed as an entrustment-based assessment tool for use by content experts evaluating trainees performing multiple POCUS study types. The objective of this study was to evaluate the scoring and extrapolation inferences of the tool within Kane's validity framework when used to assess trainees performing an early pregnancy POCUS.

methodsThis was a multicentered study of emergency medicine residents participating in a POCUS assessment. After a background questionnaire, participants were read a case stem requesting a POCUS evaluation of an early pregnancy patient. Trainees were independently assessed by two fellowship-trained faculty. Descriptive statistics and two-way random, intraclass correlation coefficients, Cronbach's alpha were calculated on the merged data and used to assess all domains. Domain scores and an entrustment score for each participant were used to create a composite score. A one-way analysis of variance was performed.

results36 trainees and 5 assessors completed the study. When used to assess trainee POCUS performance in early pregnancy, the tool demonstrated good to excellent interrater reliability for image acquisition, image generation, clinical integration, and entrustment (intraclass correlation coefficients 80-91 p < .001). The preparation domain had poor, but statistically significant interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.46 p = .04). An analysis of variance suggested the POCUS performance scores differed based on prior experience [F(2,32) = 3.74, p = .021).

conclusionThis study adds further validity evidence relating to scoring and extrapolation of the ultrasound competency assessment tool when used to assess trainees performing a POCUS study in early pregnancy.

Indexed as

Clinical CompetenceEducational MeasurementEducation, Medical, GraduateEmergency MedicineInternship and ResidencyUltrasonography, PrenatalAdultFemaleHumansPregnancyPregnancy Trimester, FirstReproducibility of ResultsSurveys and QuestionnairesAssessmentCardiac ultrasoundCompetency-based medical educationEarly pregnancyMedical educationPOCUS

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.