Volume 63, Issue 5 pp. 651-656
ISSUES & OPINIONS

Neuromuscular ultrasound competency assessment: Consensus-based survey

Eman A. Tawfik MD

Corresponding Author

Eman A. Tawfik MD

Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Correspondence

Eman A. Tawfik, Professor, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, 38 Abassia, Cairo, Egypt 11591.

Email: [email protected]

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Michael S. Cartwright MD, MS

Michael S. Cartwright MD, MS

Department of Neurology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

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Alexander Grimm MD, PhD

Alexander Grimm MD, PhD

Department of Neurology, University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

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Andrea J. Boon MD

Andrea J. Boon MD

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA

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Antonios Kerasnoudis MD, PhD

Antonios Kerasnoudis MD, PhD

Department of Neurology, St Luke's Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece

Department of Neurology, St Josef Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

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David C. Preston MD

David C. Preston MD

Neurological Institute, University Hospitals, Cleveland Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

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Einar Wilder-Smith MD

Einar Wilder-Smith MD

Department of Neurology, Kantonsspital, Lucerne, Switzerland

Department of Neurology, University of Berne, Bern, Switzerland

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Hubertus Axer MD

Hubertus Axer MD

Hans Berger Department of Neurology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany

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Lisa D. Hobson-Webb MD

Lisa D. Hobson-Webb MD

Department of Neurology, Neuromuscular Division, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA

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Nens van Alfen MD, PhD

Nens van Alfen MD, PhD

Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

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Nicholas Crump MD

Nicholas Crump MD

Department of Neurology, Austin Health and University of Melbourne, Heidelberg, Australia

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Nortina Shahrizaila PhD, FRCP

Nortina Shahrizaila PhD, FRCP

Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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Peter Inkpen MD

Peter Inkpen MD

Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

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Ross Mandeville MD

Ross Mandeville MD

Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California, USA

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Sarada Sakamuri MD

Sarada Sakamuri MD

Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

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Steven J Shook MD

Steven J Shook MD

Neuromuscular Center, Neurologic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

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Susan Shin MD

Susan Shin MD

Department of Neurology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

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Francis O. Walker MD

Francis O. Walker MD

Department of Neurology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

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First published: 31 December 2020
Citations: 9

Abstract

Neuromuscular ultrasound is a rapidly evolving specialty with direct application for patient care. Competency assessment is an essential standard needed to ensure quality for practitioners, particularly for those newly acquiring skills with the technique. Our aim was to survey experts' opinions regarding physician competency assessment of neuromuscular ultrasound and to identify minimal competency of knowledge and skills. The opinions of 18 experts were obtained through the Delphi method using two consecutive electronic surveys. A high degree of consensus was achieved on items regarding framework and the conduct of neuromuscular ultrasound assessment and the knowledge and skills that a candidate needs to attain minimal competency in neuromuscular ultrasound. In this study, a group of neuromuscular ultrasound experts developed a general framework for neuromuscular ultrasound competency assessment and recommended testable areas of knowledge and skills suitable for establishing minimal competency.

Abstract

See Editorial on pages 625–627 in this issue.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

None of the authors has any conflict of interest to disclose.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

Data available on request from the authors.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.

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