Leading Insights Point of Care Ultrasound Education in Neurocritical Care: A Call to Action

Abstract

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is increasingly being recognized as an essential skill for critical care providers, intended to enhance clinical assessments to improve patient care. Beyond its adaptation for procedural guidance, bedside ultrasound assessments can provide critical diagnostic information in a timely manner to guide real-time decision making for the acutely ill patient. An accumulating body of evidence has shown that POCUS can improve clinical outcomes and lower medical costs. Over the past decade, there has been widespread adaptation of bedside ultrasonography by various critical care specialties, with respective governing societies issuing guidelines and position statements encouraging the use of POCUS. However, the field of neurocritical care has yet to fully embrace this innovative field, and neurocritical care training programs vary in their efforts to provide accessible, well-structured educational programs for trainees.