• Mojca H Remskar, Rebecca Theophanous, Amber Bowman, Lindsey E Simonson, Jessica Koehler, Zahir Basrai, Crystal M Manohar, Michael J Mader, Robert Nathanson, and Nilam J Soni.
• Department of Anesthesiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; Anesthesiology Service, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN. Electronic address: mremskar@umn.edu.
• J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 2023 Aug 1; 37 (8): 139013961390-1396.

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to determine current use, training needs, and barriers to point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) use among anesthesiologists in practice.DesignMulticenter, prospective, observational study.SettingAnesthesiology departments in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System in the United States.ParticipantsChiefs of staff and chiefs of anesthesiology departments.InterventionsA web-based survey was conducted between June 2019 and March 2020. Chiefs of staff answered questions about facility-level POCUS use, training, competency, and policies. Anesthesiology chiefs responded to a follow-up survey with specialty-specific POCUS questions. The results of the 2020 survey were compared with a similar survey conducted by the authors' group in 2015.Measurements And Main ResultsAll chiefs of staff (n = 130) and 77% of anesthesiology chiefs (n = 96) completed the survey. The most common POCUS applications used were central and peripheral vascular access (69%-72%), peripheral nerve blocks (66%), and evaluation of cardiac function (29%-31%). Compared with 2015, there was a statistically significant increase in desire for training (p = 0.00015), but no significant change in POCUS use (p = 0.31). Training was most desired for volume-status assessment (52%), left ventricular function (47%), pneumothorax (47%), central line placement (40%), peripheral nerve blocks (40%), and pleural effusion (40%). The most common barriers to POCUS use were lack of funding for training (35%), trained providers (33%), and training opportunities (28%).ConclusionsA significant increase in desire for POCUS training was seen among anesthesiologists practicing in the Veterans Affairs healthcare system since 2015, and lack of training continues to be a top barrier for POCUS use among anesthesiologists.Published by Elsevier Inc.

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