Asynchronous Didactics and a Brief Soft-Embalmed Cadaver Laboratory Increase Self-Reported Confidence in Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia

With a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration our department sought to systematically implement UGRA education. The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Narrated Lecture Series (NLS) was utilized to provide consistent didactics. The NLS offers free, comprehensive, peer-reviewed UGRA lectures and quizzes and allows local administrators to track user performance. Following completion of the didactics learners participated in a 2-hour experiential session using soft-embalmed cadavers that allow repeated blocks due to rapid fluid redistribution. During the session trainees performed erector spinae plane blocks, serratus anterior plane blocks, femoral nerve blocks, fascia iliaca plane blocks, and pericapsular nerve group blocks. Emergency medicine residents, ultrasound & pediatric fellows, faculty, and all rotating senior medical students were welcomed to participate. Participants were surveyed prior to the NLS, after the NLS, and after the lab on their comfort with UGRA and each individual block on a 10-point Likert scale. Change in comfort was analyzed with linear mixed-effects models. The IRB determined that this project did not meet the definition of human subject research.

Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia (UGRA) is a critical skill in emergency medicine practice. UGRA education takes a variety of forms. Didactics may involve traditional lectures, online videos, or asynchronous didactic systems. Experiential education may involve clinical use, scanning and/or needling volunteers, commercial or bespoke phantoms, and cadaveric labs. However, little data exists on the impact of specific training processes on confidence in UGRA.

Nine lab sessions were conducted between 2024 and 2025. Sixty-nine surveys were completed prior to the training, 39 were completed after didactics, and 35 were completed after the labs. Linear mixed-effects models showed a significant increase in self-reported comfort with UGRA (p

Comfort in UGRA significantly increases with asynchronous didactic and hands-on skills session utilizing soft embalmed cadavers. Across all block types, gains following didactic education were modest while hands-on training produced consistently large improvements in comfort.