Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Instruction in Adult Rheumatology Fellowship Programs

Objectives Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) in rheumatology in the United States has advanced through promotion of certification, standards of use, and core fellowship curriculum inclusion requiring exposure. In order to inform endeavors for curricular integration, the study objectives are to assess current program needs for curricular incorporation, and teaching methods being employed. Methods A needs assessment survey (S1) was sent to 113 rheumatology fellowship program directors. For programs that taught MSUS, a,curriculum survey (S2) was sent to lead faculty. Programs were stratified according to program size and use of a formal written curriculum. Results S1 (108/113; response rate 96%) revealed 94% of programs taught MSUS, with 41% having a curriculum. Curricular implementation was unaffected by program size. Formal curricular adoption of MSUS was favored by 103 (95.3%) directors, with 65.7% preferring it to be optional. S2 (74/101, response rate 73%) noted 41% of programs utilized a formal curriculum. Multiple teaching strategies were used, with common content in general. Use of external courses including USSONAR course was prevalent. Fewer barriers were noted but inadequate time, funding and number of trained faculty still remained. Lack of divisional interest (p = 0.046) and fellow interest (p = 0.012) were noted among programs without a formal curriculum. Conclusion MSUS is taught by a significantly larger number of rheumatology fellowship programs today. Multiple teaching strategies are used with common content. Barriers still remain for some programs. Most program directors favor inclusion of a standardized MSUS curriculum with many favoring it to be optional. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.