What to get from POCUS Training: Dr Maina Ngoigo, POCUS Trainer of Trainees

As MedicScan, a resource platform for all healthcare providers, we are offering POCUS Training to eligible primary healthcare providers.
We take time to interview one of our recently graduated POCUS Trainer of Trainees.

Esther: Thank you Dr Maina for this interview. We appreciate your feedback.

Before I can start, let me begin by congratulating you for completing the POCUS TOT Course, we wish you all the best. If I may start, why did you participate in this training?

Dr Maina: Thank you Esther.
I participated in this training because of the impact it has on my practice. Specifically, it saves time
from decision making to intervention while handling patients hence minimizing morbidity and by
extrapolation mortality. The content is easy to understand, very specific and particular yet quite
applicable. The training was conducted in a serene, easy to access location with clean facilities and an
extremely well organized teleconferencing arrangement.

Esther: Thank you. How do local physicians examine patients without ultrasound?

Dr Maina: Local physicians examine patients following standard examination techniques based on targeted organ system. These are pegged on inspection, palpation, percussion and auscultation where applicable. However, they still employ radiological and laboratory diagnostics to cement, and at times confirm the conditions for which they are managing the patients

Esther: Interesting. Are there any benefits, such as income or position, from taking the POCUS training?

Dr Maina: The benefits after taking the POCUS ultrasound training are not only limited to the patient’s benefits in terms of timely and accurate diagnosis; the benefits are imminent to the trainee because the program empowers the trainee to train others, to be an authority in particular areas. Additionally, these skills can be lead to financial gain if employed in a healthcare business where POCUS evaluation of patients is charged as an added service or investigation.

Esther: Why do you find POCUS so important?

Dr Maina: POCUS is important to me because it saves my time to clinch key diagnosis especially in the
emergency department. It also helps me to correlate clinical findings and sonographic impressions of
disease processes hence making me a better clinician. It builds confidence on the part of the patients
that I attend to. It is a skill that I can readily teach others hence increases my value as part of a larger
clinical team.

Esther: What are the good and bad points of our POCUS training?

Dr Maina: Let me start with the GOOD POINTS:
1. The content is understandable and applicable
2. The integration of both virtual and physical learning creates flexibility for learners
3. The availability of models to do practical sessions makes it unique and easier to transition into active practice
4. It is affordable as well.

To the NEGATIVE ASPECTS:
1. The Training should also target to expose learners to actual clinical diseases where they can pick some of the diagnoses that POCUS focuses on; As is, the training is pegged heavily on healthy models whereas it would be a lot more relatable if some of the sessions were done in either Cardiology clinics and Chest clinics to appreciate the actual pathologies that we imagine on healthy models during learning.
2. There should be more training machines.

Esther: Thank you, for the good points. We will as well improve on the negative points. What makes our POCUS training better than other services?

Dr Maina: This POCUS is superior to other service providers because it does not use mannequins for training. The training is on a live model which makes it quite applicable. The integration of technology through teleconferencing makes it more exciting and enjoyable.

Esther: Wow, amazing, thank you. Please give specific details of what you liked about our POCUS training.

Dr Maina: I liked the sequential order of the lessons administered during the training. This gave specific focus on different body systems. The interaction with a kind and experienced Professor made a huge
difference because as an instructor, the professor was kind enough to repeat lectures where we experienced challenges and expressed concerns. The semi-autonomy of creating an image portfolio gave us a level of independence and self-accountability building a lot of confidence in doing the POCUS scans.

Esther: Please tell us in detail what was specifically wrong with our POCUS training.

Dr Maina: Nothing was majorly wrong with the training; but it could get better if some of the practical sessions can be centered in clinics where we scan clients who are actually sick and exhibit some of the conditions that POCUS is preparing us to pick in our practice.

Esther: We will put your concerns into consideration. What other areas of POCUS would you like to train in?

Dr Maina: I am majoring in Obs/Gyn and other areas of POCUS I would be interested to train in include OBSTETRICS POCUS to assess Obstetrics and gynaecological emergencies.

Esther: Please tell us specifically which areas you would like to be trained in. Why?

Dr Maina: I would be interested in OBSTETRIC POCUS because gynaecology and obstetric emergencies have a have very narrow time-window between diagnosis and intervention and outcomes in either is directly relatable to the time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis. Therefore, POCUS in this area will largely contribute to reduced obstetric and gynaecology morbidity and mortality.

Esther: The medical world is another area where we need to work with the private sector. For example, what kind of startups do you think would make a difference in Kenyan healthcare?

Dr Maina: I believe startups targeting preventive medicine would be impactful. This entails packaging
targeted screening tests at subsidized prices and taking them on a provider-initiated basis to people’s
doorsteps and workplaces. Most people shy away from seeking healthcare and screening services due to hospital stigma so this model would address this gap.

Esther: What kind of doctor do you want to be in 10 years?

Dr Maina: In 10 years I want to transition from bedside medicine to policy medicine in the Sexual and
Reproductive Health realm.

Esther: All the best Dr Maina and thank you for your time.