Competency Attainment

By Dr Nina Nouraeyan for the McGill University – Neonatal Perinatal Medicine Residency - Updated December 21st, 2025

This course is designed to provide participants with the foundational skills required to obtain high-quality POCUS images and to interpret them appropriately within their clinical context. It is not intended to confer full competency. Competency must be developed over time after the course, through continued image acquisition, review, and supervised practice. To support competency development and ensure appropriate follow-up, participants are required to complete the following steps:

Registering Images

All images acquired after course completion must be logged using the following form (link to come)

Uploading Images

Participants must upload anonymized images into their assigned Teams folder.
Each upload should be placed in a subfolder labeled with the date the image was obtained (e.g., an image taken on December 9, 2025 should be stored in a folder named “December 9, 2025”).

Competency Requirements

Competency will be considered achieved once the following minimum image-acquisition thresholds are met, with correct identification of required pathologies:

Lung Ultrasound: 30 images, including at least 10 with correctly identified pathology.
b. Cerebral Ultrasound: 30 images, including at least 10 with correctly identified pathology.
c. Cardiac Ultrasound: 75 images, including at least 20 with correctly identified pathology.
d. Line Placement: 25 images, with >80% demonstrating correctly identified line placement.
e. Procedural Skills
- There are currently no competency-based guidelines for ultrasound-guided procedural skills.
- Due to the infrequent nature of these scenarios in clinical practice, most teaching will occur through simulation-based training.

Please note: These competency thresholds are adapted from the training guidelines published here: Fraga, M.V., Bhombal, S., Juliano, C. et al. Neonatal point-of-care ultrasound—guidelines for training, credentialing and quality assurance. Journal of Perinatology (2025).

References

Fraga, M.V., Bhombal, S., Juliano, C. et al. Neonatal point-of-care ultrasound—guidelines for training, credentialing and quality assurance. J Perinatol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-025-02367-1

s41372-025-02367-1.pdf

Bhombal, S., Singh, Y., Marshall, S. et al. Neonatal point-of-care ultrasound—steps for program development. J Perinatol (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-025-02359-1

s41372-025-02359-1.pdf

CPS Position Statement: Applications of point-of-care ultrasonography in the NICU: A Canadian perspective - Canadian Paediatric Society - 2025 by Michael Narvey MD, Nina Stein MD, Yasser Elsayed MD, PhD; Canadian Paediatric Society, Fetus and Newborn Committee

Applications of point-of-care ultrasonography in the NICU_ A Canadian perspective _ Canadian Paediatric Society.pdf

Stewart DL, Elsayed Y, Fraga MV, Coley BD, Annam A, Milla SS; COMMITTEE ON FETUS AND NEWBORN AND SECTION ON RADIOLOGY; Section on Radiology Executive Committee, 2021–2022. Use of Point-of-Care Ultrasonography in the NICU for Diagnostic and Procedural Purposes. Pediatrics. 2022 Dec 1;150(6):e2022060053. doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-060053. PMID: 37154781.

peds_2022060052.pdf

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