Lung Ultrasound Training for Respiratory Therapists

Background: Bedside ultrasound is widely utilized for critically ill patients, yet there is no standardized approach for teaching lung ultrasound to medical staff, particularly respiratory therapists (RTs), in the United States. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a lung ultrasound training program designed for RTs. Methods: With approval from the ethics committee, we recruited RTs with over 3 months of experience at Rush University Medical Center to participate in our lung ultrasound training program. The program comprised of a 1-h didactic lecture followed by hands-on practice on a healthy volunteer. A refresher training session was provided 6-9 months later for those who remained interested in lung ultrasound and were still employed at Rush University Medical Center. Pre- and post-training assessments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the training and identify areas requiring further knowledge development. Results: Between October 2022 and April 2023, 23 RTs completed the initial training, and 7 attended both the initial and the refresher training sessions. Following the initial session, total scores significantly improved (post-training 11.0 [9.0-14.0] versus pre-training 1.0 [0-2.0], P < .001), with the subgroup focusing on "identification of patterns" achieving the highest percentage of correct answers. Among the 7 RTs who attended the refresher training, total scores significantly decreased over 6-9 months (12.9 +/- 2.3 vs 4.4 +/- 1.8, P = .001). However, scores significantly rebounded after the refresher training (post-training 11.3 +/- 3.1 vs pre-training 4.4 +/- 1.8, P = .008), with no significant difference in post-training total scores between the initial and the refresher sessions. Conclusions: Both the initial and refresher training sessions of our lung ultrasound training programs effectively improved participants' knowledge. The observed decline in knowledge retention over 6-9 months highlights the necessity for periodic refresher courses and ongoing use of lung ultrasound in clinical practice to maintain skills. Incorporating a visual format may be beneficial for acquiring and retaining knowledge.