ORIGINAL REPORTS National Survey of Canadian General Surgery Program Directors Regarding Focused Assessment With Sonography for Trauma Dennis Y. Kim, MD,* Jean-Denis Yelle, MD,* A. Curtis Lee, PhD, † and Michael Y. Woo, MD † *Department of Surgery and † Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada INTRODUCTION: Focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) is an important modality in the initial assess- ment of trauma patients. Information regarding the current status, availability, as well as educational and training processes in the use of FAST is limited. The purpose of this study was to survey Canadian general surgery residency program directors regarding FAST. METHODS: A Web-based survey was developed to assess the availability and use of FAST, education and training, as well as the role of FAST in general surgery residency training programs across Canada. Two experts reviewed the survey for validity and reliability. The survey was then pilot tested by 2 general surgeons. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 75.0% (12/16). FAST was available at all the institutions that responded. FAST was used 100% of the time in the initial assessment of the trauma patient. In all, 75.0% (9/12) respondents have no for- mal residency training in FAST, 91.7% (11/12) of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that training in FAST should be in- cluded in the residency curriculum, and 66.7% (8/12) of re- spondents perceive that general surgery residents are not com- petent in the use of FAST. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, Canadian general surgery pro- gram directors do not feel that surgical residents are competent in the use of FAST. Current training is limited, and program directors believe that training and education in FAST should be included in the postgraduate education curriculum. (J Surg 66: 193-195. © 2009 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) KEY WORDS: medical education, ultrasonography, FAST COMPETENCY: Patient Care, Practice-Based Learning and Improvement, Systems Based Practice FAST has been demonstrated to be a quick, efficient, accurate, and sensitive tool for the evaluation of the trauma patient. 1-3 Advocated to be “an extension of the physical examination,” 4 the application and enthusiasm for FAST, and ultrasonography in general, have spread beyond the resuscitation bay as exper- tise, knowledge, and educational initiatives have evolved. Both the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons and the Committee on Emerging Surgical Technol- ogies and Education have advocated for training and education in ultrasonography for surgeons. 5 Although most courses of- fered by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) have been available or offered outside of the residency curriculum, a 2006 evaluation of the ACS ultrasound education program con- cluded that “there is a need to facilitate export of ACS courses to other venues and to focus on incorporating training into surgi- cal residency programs.” 6 A recent study published in 2006 by Freitas et al 7 detailed the status of ultrasound training and use in United States residency programs for general surgery. However, no data are available with regard to Canadian training programs. The overall pur- pose of this article, therefore, was to examine the current role and status of FAST in general surgery training programs in Canada and to define the availability and training practices used in the teaching of FAST. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was performed using a modified Dillman tech- nique. 8 The questionnaire was developed by 2 experts in FAST, both of whom have more than 8 years of experience in FAST and provide instruction to multispecialty groups both locally and nationally. One author (M.W.) is certified as a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. Two academic general sur- geons reviewed the survey for validity and reliability. Sixteen general surgery program directors in Canada were invited to participate in the study (Table 1). In October 2006, program directors were e-mailed a link to a Web-based survey to be Correspondence: Inquiries to Dennis Y. Kim, Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, 1053 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 4E9; e-mail: denniskim@rogers.com Journal of Surgical Education • © 2009 Association of Program Directors in Surgery 1931-7204/09/$30.00 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jsurg.2009.04.004 193