Background: POCUS on the PNP-AC Exam
The most recent PNCB Job Task Analysis identified point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) as a skill commonly performed by pediatric acute care nurse practitioners (PNP-ACs) in clinical practice and subsequently incorporated POCUS-related content into the 2024 CPNP-AC exam content outline. While many PNP-ACs use POCUS daily as a bedside diagnostic and procedural tool, its clinical utility varies across practice settings and specialties. Nevertheless, graduate programs are expected to prepare students for contemporary acute care practice and certification requirements, making foundational POCUS knowledge and application an important educational priority.
At the same time, many PNP-AC faculty work in small programs, often with only one or two specialty-qualified educators, creating professional isolation and making it difficult to balance all of the competing demands of clinical practice and teaching. The Peds NP’s Acute Care Faculty Series demonstrated that podcasting can serve as an approachable mechanism for sharing expertise across institutions, reducing faculty workload, and creating durable educational resources that support competency-based education.
This series aims to continue the collaborative approach to acute care pediatrics by sharing the expertise of POCUS educators in a conversational introduction to the tool.
How can you teach POCUS in a podcast?
Through case-based discussions and acute care decision-making, the series helps learners recognize high-priority differentials, identify when POCUS may answer a focused clinical question, and understand how ultrasound findings can influence diagnostic and management trajectories. By emphasizing the integration of POCUS into bedside clinical judgment, the series supports the cognitive competencies that accompany procedural proficiency and helps learners connect technical ultrasound skills to real-world pediatric acute care practice.
This podcast series is not intended to replace formal ultrasound training, hands-on skill development, competency assessment, or institutional credentialing and privileging processes required for POCUS practice. Rather, it is designed to complement those experiences by strengthening the clinical reasoning that underpins effective POCUS use.
What additional tools exist to help me learn POCUS?
Stay tuned for additional resources to support your active learning and skill-building!
Meet the POCUS Focus Faculty Contributors
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Becky Carson, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC/AC
Duke University
HOST & PRODUCER
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Amanda Alvarado, DNP, APRN, CPNP-AC
University of Texas at Austin
AUTHOR, PANELIST, & SERIES TEAM LEAD
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Aimee Bucci DNP, APRN, CPNP-AC
Arizona State University
AUTHOR & REVIEWER
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Mike Maymi, DNP, APRN, CPNP-AC, CCRN, CNE
University of Florida
PANELIST
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Emily McRae, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC/AC
University of Louisville
REVIEWER & PANELIST
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Ben Ranstrom, DNP, APRN, ENP, FNP, CPNP-AC, RNFA, TCRN
Sanford/North Memorial Health
AUTHOR & REVIEWER
Peer Review Process
The POCUS Focus Series underwent The Peds NP’s standardized approach to peer review. Focusing on quality standards set forth by healthcare podcast experts, our peer review process met scholarly podcast standards.
Read about the scholarly approach to peer review in the Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions.
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Our faculty peer reviewed episodes prior to publication using a semi-blinded, standardized approach. Our tool was a modified version of the rMETRIQ score.
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The host assigns volunteer reviewers to a completed episode based on their academic interests and area of expertise. Reviewers are invited to share their credentials, clinical expertise relevant to the episode, and any disclose conflicts of interest.
Reviewers read the episode script and complete the multiple choice tool. Any episode with comments or imperfect scoring is edited and resubmitted to the reviewer to review again.