Dedicated time for deliberate practice: one emergency medicine program’s approach to point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) training

Point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) has become an essential skill in the practice of emergency medicine (EM). Various EM residency programs now require competency in basic PoCUS applications. The education literature suggests that deliberate practice is necessary for skill acquisition and mastery. We used an educational theory, Ericsson's model of deliberate practice, to create a PoCUS curriculum for our Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada EM residency. Although international recommendations around curriculum requirements exist, this will be one of the first papers to describe the implementation of a specific PoCUS training program. This paper details the features of the program and lessons learned during its initial 3 years. Sharing this experience may serve as a nidus for scholarly discussion around how to best approach medical education in this area.