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Ultrasound, cannulation and foundation trainees

As junior doctors who have seen the benefits of ultrasound peripheral venous cannulation (PVC) firsthand, we found the recent work by Armson et al1 to be of great interest. Integrating the teaching of ultrasonography into the earlier stages of medical training should be welcomed. Understanding the principles of ultrasonography and vascular access is a valuable asset to any junior doctor working in the acute setting. We would propose that the teaching model they demonstrate is just as appropriate, and potentially has even more value, to a different cohort— foundation doctors. The authors themselves clearly outline the learning needs of newly qualified doctors in their background survey. This reflects our experience that doctors completing the 2 years of foundation programme have varying, but usually minimal, experience of ultrasonography for vascular access. This is despite this group being frequently exposed to unwell patients with poor peripheral venous access. They are therefore likely to be a motivated group of learners on which training could be focussed. The authors also outline the General Medical Council (GMC) core practical skill competencies, which includes PVC.2 We feel that implementing a formal educational intervention for the use of ultrasound as an adjunct to PVC is more appropriately done in the clinical setting once the accepted standard for ‘landmark’ PVC is uniformly met. Technically this is upon completion of the foundation year 1 (FY1) year. Foundation year 2 (FY2) doctors are not currently mandated to complete any core practical skill competencies. Therefore, they may be perfectly placed to be trained in ultrasoundguided PVC, and subsequently apply this training regularly to their practice. Perhaps FY2 doctors could be the audience for future educational research in this area?