Point-of-care Ultrasound Teledidactic Teaching for Prehospital Emergency Personnel (POCUS TT)

Medical University of Vienna

Status: Completed

Conditions: Education, Medical; eFast; Fate; Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)

Treatments: Other: Teledidactic Training; Other: In-Person Hands-on Training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06824675

2107/2024

Details and patient eligibility

About

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare two methods of teaching emergency medical service (EMS) providers how to use point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to quickly assess critical conditions like internal bleedings. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Is teledidactic training as effective as face-to-face training in teaching POCUS skills? What are the participants' experiences, cognitive load, and feedback regarding these training methods? Researchers will compare remote, online hands-on training (teledidactic training) to traditional, face-to-face hands-on training (in-person training) to see if remote training is equally effective.

Participants will:

Be EMS providers from Austria and Hungary, aged 18 years or older, with no extensive prior experience in POCUS.

Be randomly assigned to either the tele-didactic or in-person training group (50 participants per group).

Undergo training sessions designed to teach POCUS skills and provide feedback on their learning experience.

This study is part of the European Union-funded Digi4Care project, which aims to promote digitalization in healthcare. It is significant because, if remote training proves effective, it could provide high-quality education to EMS providers in rural or underserved areas, ensuring they have the necessary skills to assess and respond to critical conditions.

Full description

POCUS is a valuable tool that helps EMS providers quickly assess critical conditions like internal bleeding or heart problems, which can be crucial in emergency situations. However, many rural and remote areas with limited infrastructure face challenges, such as restricted access to hands-on training and specialized instructors. This study aims to compare two educational approaches - teledidactic versus traditional in-person hands-on training - for teaching EMS providers the skills necessary to perform POCUS based on the eFAST protocol.

In this study participants will be devided into the intervention group (teledidactic training) and the control group (in-person training)

1. Teledidactic Training: This involves remote, online hands-on training.
2. In-Person Training: This is the traditional face-to-face hands-on training. Participants in this study are EMS providers from Austria and Hungary who are at least 18 years old and do not have extensive prior experience with POCUS. A total of 100 participants will be randomly assigned to either the teledidactic or in-person training group.

The primary objective of the study is to compare the effectiveness of teledidactic versus in-person training in teaching POCUS skills. Secondary objectives include evaluating participants' experiences with these teaching methods, their cognitive load during the learning process, and their feedback on the training methods.

This study is important because it seeks to determine if remote training can be as effective as in-person training. If successful, this could help provide high-quality education to EMS providers in rural or underserved areas, ensuring they have the necessary skills to quickly assess and respond to critical conditions. The study is part of the European Union-funded Digi4Care project, which aims to promote digitalization in healthcare.

All collected data will be securely stored and anonymized to protect participants' privacy. The study follows ethical guidelines to ensure participants' rights and safety. Participation is voluntary, and participants can withdraw at any time.

Enrollment: 90 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• EMT-Intermediate/Advanced in the Austrian or Hungarian EMS
• ≥18 years

Exclusion criteria

• Experienced POCUS examiners, defined as >20 real-life or simulated POCUS examinations following the eFAST protocol
• inadequate knowledge of English

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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90 participants in 2 patient groups

Teledidactic Training

Other group

Description:

Remote, online hands-on training

Treatment:

Other: Teledidactic Training

In-Person Hands-on Training

Other group

Description:

Traditional face-to-face hands on-training

Treatment:

Other: In-Person Hands-on Training