Evaluation of an Online Application for Point of Care Ultrasound Training in General Internal Medicine Residents

This study compares Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) training in two hospitals, one that uses an online application for supervision and one that does not use the application. The goal of this trial is to learn if POCUS supervision using the online application is associated with improved POCUS skills in residents in General Internal Medicine (GIM). The main question it aims to answer is:

- Do POCUS skills improve more during 6 months in GIM residents supervised using the application than in GIM residents who do not use the application?

Further questions the study aims to answer are:

• Do residents using the application perform more POCUS exams during 6 months than residents not using the application?
• Are residents using the application more satisfied with their POCUS training than residents not using the application?

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Ultrasound Evaluation; Ultrasound Exam in Emergency/Medical Care; Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 56

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Tudor Cosma, MD; Phone Number: +41564862502; Email: tudor.cosma@ksb.ch

Study Locations

• Switzerland
  • Canton of Aargau
    • Baden, Canton of Aargau, Switzerland, 5404
      • Kantonsspital Baden
      • Contact: Tudor Cosma, MD; Phone Number: +41564862502; Email: tudor.cosma@ksb.ch
      • Principal Investigator: Tudor Cosma, MD
  • Canton of Zurich
    • Schlieren, Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, 8952
      • Spital Limmattal Schlieren
      • Principal Investigator: Tudor Cosma, MD
      • Contact: Yann Hausherr, MD; Phone Number: +41447332246; Email: yann.hausherr@spital-limmattal.ch

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

General internal medicine residents at two hospitals in Switzerland

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• General Internal Medicine resident employed at one of the study sites for at least 2 months
• Probably or definitely interested in achieving POCUS certification (mandatory for the General Internal Medicine specialisation in Switzerland)
• Basic ultrasound course completed (Basic course Abdominal ultrasound or Emergency ultrasound)
• Will spend at least 3 months within a rotation where POCUS training is offered during the 6 months after baseline assessment

Exclusion Criteria:

• Definitely or probably not interested in achieving POCUS certification
• Has already performed more than 80 supervised and more than 160 total POCUS exams
• Will end employment at the study site less than 7 months after baseline assessment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
POCUS supervision using application; This group is supervised using the online application.
Usual POCUS supervision; This group receives usual POCUS supervision, without using the application.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline in POCUS skills	POCUS skills will be evaluated on healthy volunteers by video-recorded OSCE	Post-test 6 months (+/- 2 weeks) from pre-test

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of POCUS exams performed	In the cohort using the application, the number is automatically recorded. The usual supervision cohort will manually record the number of exams.	During 6 months after baseline assessment (pre-test)
Number of supervised POCUS exams performed	In the cohort using the application, the number is automatically recorded. The usual supervision cohort will manually record the number of exams.	During 6 months after baseline assessment (pre-test)
Number of directly supervised POCUS exams performed	Direct supervision means that the supervisor is present during the exam. In the cohort using the application, the number is automatically recorded. The usual supervision cohort will manually record the number of exams.	During 6 months after baseline assessment (pre-test)
Change in satisfaction and engagement with POCUS training	Measured with a survey	Follow-up assessment 6 months (+/- 2 weeks) after baseline assessment
Change in self-assessed POCUS competency	Assessed with a survey. Included since the objective evaluation (primary outcome) will not assess all regions that residents are trained to examine, in order to keep the evaluation feasible.	Follow-up assessment 6 months (+/- 2 weeks) after baseline assessment

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Usefulness of the online application	Assessed with a survey, only in the cohort using the application	6 months (+/- 2 weeks) after baseline assessment
Change from baseline in POCUS skills within the individual cohorts	Evaluating how POCUS skills evolve during 6 months in each of the individual study arms.	Post-test 6 month (+/- 2 weeks) from pre-test

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Kantonsspital Baden
• Collaborators: Spital Limmattal Schlieren
• Investigators: Study Chair: Maria M Wertli, MD PhD, Kantonsspital Baden

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): February 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 20, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 20, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): January 28, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 28, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 20, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Medical Education; POCUS; Point of Care Ultrasound; Ultrasound Training; Point of Care Ultrasonography; Ultrasound Education; POCUS Training; POCUS Education; Ultrasound Supervision; POCUS Supervision
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2024-01470

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Data will be shared in compliance with the national and international privacy regulations and after appropriate approval.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No