The AIUM’s Endowment for Education and Research (EER) is issuing a request for applications (RFA) for studies to assess competency for point-of-care applications of ultrasound. Proposals should address 1 or more applications of point-of-care ultrasound, defined as ultrasound imaging for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes performed on the patient by a provider in real time as a component of a care episode. The EER has allocated up to $50,000 for 1 or more grants. The submission deadline is March 1, 2012. 

The purpose of this RFA is to investigate the reliability of various methods to measure competence in 1 or more point-of-care applications of ultrasound. As such, the method of measuring competence is critical, must be reliable, and must be adequately explained. The evaluation should take into account the background and training of the providers and the specific setting in which point-of-care ultrasound is provided. Assessment of competency should include independent blinded review of images, evaluating both the quality of the images obtained and diagnostic accuracy. If the point-of-care application is for therapeutic purposes, evaluation of the ability to perform the procedure should also be assessed. Studies should comply with the AIUM Practice Guideline for Documentation of an Ultrasound Examination and with the AIUM Official Statement Interpretation of Ultrasound Examinations. For examples of point-of-care applications, see the article “Point-of-Care Ultrasonography” by Moore and Copel (N Engl J Med 2011; 364:749–757).