Perspectives Winter/Spring 2018

48 Nova Southeastern University Physician Assistant Orlando Program Integrates Student-Led Point of Care Ultrasound Education By Rachel M. Martins, M.S., and Miranda Ghali, Class of 2018 Physician Assistant Students “A 28-YEAR-OLD FEMALE patient presents to the emergency department with lower abdominal pain.” This short and limited patient description provides enough information to give any group of physician assistant (PA) students a long list of diagno- ses to consider. Many of the possibilities have vastly different treatments and require some type of lab tests or imaging to rule out. Now, imagine that these PA students are proficient at point of care ultrasound (POCUS), and instead of having to wait hours for the patient to have imaging completed and read by a radiologist, they are able to pull an ultrasound machine out of their lab coat pocket and obtain critical and lifesaving imaging right away at the bedside. At the NSU Orlando Campus, students are learning how to do just that. POCUS provides clinicians with the tools to make more informed decisions concerning their patients’ care plans in a timely manner, and without exposing their patients to radia- tion. “POCUS is the first modern medical innovation that brings clinicians back to the bedside to spend meaningful time exploring our patient’s illness to provide immediate answers to complex questions,” said Francisco Norman, M.P.A.S., PA-C, president and cofounder of the Society of Point of Care Ultrasound (SPOCUS). POCUS’s portability means it can be employed anywhere, and its flexibility allows it to be used to investigate diseases and injuries ranging from gallstones to pericardial effusions. More than 20 medical schools have integrated ultrasound into their medical curriculum; however, POCUS is not yet a component of most PA programs across the country. Currently, only three PA programs have POCUS. In fall of 2016, Lorilee Butler, D.H.Sc., M.P.A.S., M.Ed., PA-C, as- sistant professor and program director of the NSU Orlando PA Program, invited guest lecturer Rachel Krackov, Ph.D., M.P.A.S., RVS, PA-C, from Practical Point of Care Ultrasound Consultants in Windermere, Florida, to the Orlando Campus. Krackov spoke to the class of 2018 students about the inte- gration of bedside ultrasound into clinical practice and how students can integrate this learning into their education. Addi- tionally, several second-year students spearheaded the effort by organizing a POCUS interest group among their peers. With the support of the faculty members and the ambition of the students, the class of 2018 students became members of SPOCUS, rented ultrasound machines, and organized curricu- lum in which 100 percent class participation was recorded. According to Norman, the NSU Orlando PA Program is the first PA program in the United States to integrate a student-led POCUS education with 100 percent class participation. “What sets NSU students apart is their high level of motivation and their willingness to make it happen even when faced with obstacles,” Norman said. “I was blown away when I learned all 62 students in the class had created their own Student Ultrasound Interest Section.” As a proponent of POCUS education expansion into PA pro- grams, Krackov volunteered her time to organize and teach a four-week course covering the highest-yield POCUS topics, including language of transducer manipulation, scanning the heart, kidneys, bladder, and lungs, and much more. The course consisted of PowerPoint lectures and practice sessions with hands-on scanning time.