TRAIN CERTIFY MAINTAIN
Family Medicine (FM) CORE
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CURRICULUM
Review the curriculum to achieve IP certification
Earn CME credits the same time via the MOC program
Section 1
POCUS basics
Section 2
Advanced skills for certification
Primary author
Chuck Wurster
Editor
Ray Wiss
Translator
Claude Topping (in progress)
Contributing authors (in alphabetical order)
Geneviève Dallaire
Robert Devins
Greg Hall
Irene Ma
Chau Pham
Stéphane Rhein
Laurie Robichaud
Peter Steinmetz
Patrick Tardif
R. Petter Tonseth
Jennifer Wurster
Publishing
Sharon Oleskevich
© Canadian Point of Care Ultrasound Society 2018
Reproduction or distribution without express written permission is prohibited
CERTIFY OTHERS
To certify others as a FM CORE Independent Practitioner (IP),
an examiner may submit an IP Request
only if:
The IP candidate has completed introductory training, acquired logged scans,
and passed all three CORE examinations
and
The examiner is certified as a CORE IP or CORE Master Instructor (MI)
If you cannot see the button below, you have not met the examiner certification criteria
SCAN DOCUMENTATION
For all Prerequisites, the introductory scans do not count towards certification and do not need to be determinate.
For all Logged scan requirements, there is no requirement for a minimum number of positive scans.
***An ‘unassisted’ scan is one in which the learner generates a determinate image and uses appropriate troubleshooting maneuvers without ANY assistance (verbal or physical) from the instructor.
Sub-xiphoid cardiac
Prerequisites
Appropriate didactic and practical introduction to technique that must include written materials covering all relevant ultrasound physics, anatomy and theory, a minimum of 30 minutes of live or on-line lectures, and at least 5 introductory supervised sub-xiphoid cardiac scans.
Logged scan requirements
- 50 determinate sub-xiphoid cardiac scans supervised by a CPoCUS CORE instructor
(see Determinate scan requirements in CORE curriculum) - A minimum of 5 of the last 10 supervised scans must be done ‘unassisted’***.
Aorta
Prerequisites
Appropriate didactic and practical introduction to technique that must include written materials covering all relevant ultrasound physics, anatomy and theory, a minimum of 30 minutes of live or on-line lectures, and at least 5 introductory supervised aortic scans.
Logged scan requirements
- 50 determinate aortic scans supervised by a CPoCUS CORE instructor
(see Determinate scan requirements in CORE curriculum) - A minimum of 5 of the last 10 supervised scans must be done ‘unassisted’***.
Abdomen
a. Upper quadrant
Prerequisites
Appropriate didactic and practical introduction to technique that must include written materials covering all relevant ultrasound physics, anatomy and theory, a minimum of 45 minutes of live or on-line lectures, and at least 5 introductory supervised upper quadrant abdominal scans.
Logged scan requirements
- 50 determinate upper quadrant abdominal scans supervised by a CPoCUS CORE instructor
(see Determinate scan requirements in CORE curriculum) - A minimum of 5 of the last 10 supervised scans must be done ‘unassisted’***.
b. Pelvis
Prerequisites
Appropriate didactic and practical introduction to technique that must include written materials covering all relevant ultrasound physics, anatomy and theory, a minimum of 30 minutes of live or on-line lectures, and at least 5 introductory supervised pelvic scans for free fluid in men and at least 5 introductory supervised pelvic scans for free fluid in women*.
*This requirement is waived for those who have completed introductory scanning for first trimester pregnancy.
Logged scan requirements
- 5 determinate pelvic free fluid scans in males and five determinate pelvic free fluid scans in females**, all directly supervised by a CPoCUS CORE instructor
(see Determinate scan requirements in CORE curriculum) - A minimum of 2 of the last 5 proctored scans, on both males and females, must be done ‘unassisted’.***
**The requirement for proctored pelvic free fluid scans in women is waived if an IP candidate has completed the scanning requirements for First TM Obstetrics.
First trimester obstetrics
a. Abdominal
Prerequisites
Appropriate didactic and practical introduction to technique that must include written materials covering all relevant ultrasound physics, anatomy and theory, a minimum of 45 minutes of live or on-line lectures, and at least 5 introductory supervised First TM pregnancy scans by the abdominal approach.
Logged scan requirements
- 50 determinate First TM scans, all directly supervised by a CPoCUS CORE instructor.
These scans may be a combination of abdominal and transvaginal scans. Persons being scanned do NOT need to be pregnant.If an abdominal and a transvaginal scan are performed on a single patient/model, EACH scan may be counted towards logged scan requirements, provided that each scan satisfies all criteria for an appropriate proctored scan.
Scans performed on transvaginal simulators may also be counted towards logged totals provided that no more than 2 total scans are used towards this total.
- A minimum of 5 of the last 10 supervised scans must be done ‘unassisted’.***
(see criteria for Determinate scan requirements in CORE curriculum)
b. Transvaginal
Prerequisites
Appropriate didactic and practical introduction to technique that must include written materials covering all relevant ultrasound physics, anatomy and theory, a minimum of 15 minutes of live or on-line lectures, and at least 1 introductory supervised first trimester pregnancy transvaginal scan. This introductory scan can be done on a simulator.
Logged scan requirements
- 50 determinate First TM scans, all directly supervised by a CPoCUS CORE instructor.
These scans may be a combination of abdominal and transvaginal scans. Persons being scanned do NOT need to be pregnant.
If an abdominal and a transvaginal scan are performed on a single patient/model, EACH scan may be counted towards logged scan requirements, provided that each scan satisfies all criteria for an appropriate proctored scan.
Scans performed on transvaginal simulators may also be counted towards logged totals provided that no more than 2 total scans are used towards this total.
- A minimum of 5 of the last 10 supervised scans must be done ‘unassisted’.***
(see Determinate scan requirements in CORE curriculum)
Pleural effusion
Prerequisites
Appropriate didactic and practical introduction to technique that must include written materials covering all relevant ultrasound physics, anatomy and theory, a minimum of 30 minutes of live or on-line lectures, and at least 5 introductory supervised pleural effusion scans.
Logged scan requirements
- 10 BILATERAL determinate lung scans (total of 20 hemithoraces) directly supervised by a CPoCUS CORE instructor*
(see Determinate scan requirements in CORE curriculum) - A minimum of 2 of the last 5 supervised scans must be done ‘unassisted’. ***
- *This assumes that the IP candidate has also successfully fulfilled logged scanning requirements for upper quadrant abdominal certification. If this has not occurred, the required number of bilateral proctored scans for pleural effusion will be 25.
Pneumothorax (PTX)
Prerequisites
Appropriate didactic and practical introduction to technique that must include written materials covering all relevant ultrasound physics, anatomy and theory, a minimum of 30 minutes of live or on-line lectures, and at least 5 introductory supervised pneumothorax scans.
Logged scan requirements
- 10 BILATERAL determinate lung scans (total of 20 hemithoraces) directly supervised by a CPoCUS CORE instructor
(see Determinate scan requirements in CORE curriculum) - A minimum of 2 of the last 5 supervised scans must be done ‘unassisted’.***
CPoCUS CORE documentation standards
- Use consistent and unambiguous documentation standards to describe the results of your ultrasound examination.
- Be aware that these documentation standards emphasize the distinction between your examination and examinations performed in the Diagnostic Imaging department.
- Understand that the documentation standards are binary to encourage staying within the limits of your competence.
- If a result is neither positive or negative for any reason, it should be documented as indeterminate. The first aim of POCUS is to never declare a false-positive or a false-negative which highlights the importance of documenting a result as indeterminate.
Sub-xiphoid cardiac
PCE positive
PCE negative
PCE indeterminate
Aorta
Aorta < 3 cm (if negative)
Aorta indeterminate
Abdomen
Free fluid (upper quadrant):
FF (UQ) positive in RUQ, LUQ, or both
FF (UQ) negative
FF (UQ) indeterminate
Free fluid (pelvis):
FF (pelvis) positive
FF (pelvis) negative
FF (pelvis) indeterminate (unable to adequately visualize potential spaces in pelvis)
First Trimester obstetrics
Pregnancy:
Intrauterine pregnancy (IUP)
Live intrauterine pregnancy (LIUP)
No definite intrauterine pregnancy (NDIUP)*
*All indeterminate First Trimester pregnancy scans must be documented as NDIUP, regardless of cause
Free fluid (pelvis):
FF (pelvis) positive
FF (pelvis) negative
FF (pelvis) indeterminate (unable to adequately visualize potential spaces in pelvis)
Pleural effusion
Pleural effusion positive (note right, left, or bilateral)
Pleural effusion negative
Pleural effusion indeterminate
Pneumothorax (PTX)
PTX positive (note right, left, or bilateral and small, medium, large, or very large)
PTX negative
PTX indeterminate
Image capture
While a still image may be required for billing in some jurisdictions, the use of hard copy for negative image capture for clinical purposes is strongly discouraged, for two reasons:
- Image capture blurs the distinction between POCUS and formal ultrasound. POCUS should be considered an extension of the physical exam. As such, it should be documented in the same manner as cardiac auscultation or fundoscopy: a notation in the chart.
- Still images cannot be relied upon to determine a true negative scan. This requires a dynamic scan, during which the entire Area of Interest is swept by the ultrasound beam. As an extension of the physical exam, POCUS should be performed at a much lower threshold than for radiology-perfomed studies. Inevitably, this will mean that the vast majority of POCUS studies will be negative. Hard copies will therefore not only be misleading, but also wasteful.
The use of hard copy for image capture is useful for positive studies. Such images should be shown to other physicians involved in the patient’s care and should become part of the patient’s record.
Video archiving
MAINTENANCE OF COMPETENCY (MOC)
Refresh your skills
Select a module
Earn CME credits (see below)
Family Medicine CORE
Earn CME credits from MOC
Earn up to 48 credits by reviewing the CORE curriculum
and passing the CORE MOC quizzes above
Activity description | Society | Credit category | Credits earned |
---|---|---|---|
Review of CPoCUS curriculum online prior to MOC module completion | CFPC | Assessment:
Review of learning materials | 1 non-certified credit per hour of review |
RCPSC | Section 2, Scanning | 1 credit per hour | |
Completion of MOC module online with ≥ 85% pass | CFPC | Self-learning: Online modules (8 modules) Enter Session ID | 6 certified Mainpro+ credits per module (48 credits for all modules) |
RCPSC | Section 2, Self-learning: Planned learning, Traineeship Enter Session ID | 2 credits per hour |
Select:
Enter a CPD activity
Select:
Self-learning
Select:
Certified
Select:
CFPC Certified Mainpro+
Activities
Select:
Online
Self-Study
Enter specific Session ID, Search, Select MOC activity
Upload Certificate of Completion; Claim credits
Activity description | Society | MOC module and Session ID | Credits earned per module |
---|---|---|---|
Completion of MOC module online with ≥ 85% pass | CFPC | 1. POCUS Basics Session ID 196599-003 | 6 certified Mainpro+ credits |
2. Sub-xiphoid cardiac Session ID 196599-004 | 6 certified Mainpro+ credits | ||
3. Aorta Session ID 196599-005 | 6 certified Mainpro+ credits | ||
4. Abdomen Session ID 196599-006 | 6 certified Mainpro+ credits | ||
5. First Trimester Obstetrics-Abdominal Session ID 196599-007 | 6 certified Mainpro+ credits | ||
6. First Trimester Obstetrics-Transvaginal Session ID 196599-008 | 6 certified Mainpro+ credits | ||
7. Pleural effusion Session ID 196599-009 | 6 certified Mainpro+ credits | ||
8. Pneumothorax Session ID 196599-010 | 6 certified Mainpro+ credits |
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