Neuromuscular ultrasound competency assessment: Consensus-based survey

Tawfik EA 1 , Cartwright MS 2 , Grimm A 3 , Boon AJ 4 , Kerasnoudis A 5 , Preston DC 6 Show all authors , Wilder-Smith E 7 , Axer H 8 , Hobson-Webb LD 9 , van Alfen N 10 , Crump N 11 , Shahrizaila N 12 , Inkpen P 13 , Mandeville R 14 , Sakamuri S 15 , Shook SJ 16 , Shin S 17 , Walker FO 2

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
  • 2 Department of Neurology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
  • 3 Department of Neurology, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
  • 4 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
  • 5 Department of Neurology, St Luke's Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece
  • 6 Neurological Institute, University Hospitals, Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  • 7 Department of Neurology, Kantonsspital, Lucerne, Switzerland
  • 8 Hans Berger Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
  • 9 Department of Neurology, Neuromuscular Division, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
  • 10 Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  • 11 Department of Neurology, Austin Health and University of Melbourne, Heidelberg, Australia
  • 12 Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 13 Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
  • 14 Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California, USA
  • 15 Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
  • 16 Neuromuscular Center, Neurologic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  • 17 Department of Neurology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
Muscle Nerve, 2021 05;63(5):651-656.
PMID: 33382094 DOI: 10.1002/mus.27163

Abstract

Neuromuscular ultrasound is a rapidly evolving specialty with direct application for patient care. Competency assessment is an essential standard needed to ensure quality for practitioners, particularly for those newly acquiring skills with the technique. Our aim was to survey experts' opinions regarding physician competency assessment of neuromuscular ultrasound and to identify minimal competency of knowledge and skills. The opinions of 18 experts were obtained through the Delphi method using two consecutive electronic surveys. A high degree of consensus was achieved on items regarding framework and the conduct of neuromuscular ultrasound assessment and the knowledge and skills that a candidate needs to attain minimal competency in neuromuscular ultrasound. In this study, a group of neuromuscular ultrasound experts developed a general framework for neuromuscular ultrasound competency assessment and recommended testable areas of knowledge and skills suitable for establishing minimal competency.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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