Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) is the process of operating a compact ultrasound machine at a patient’s location and immediately integrating the images generated into patient care. POCUS can help nurse practitioners (NPs) make more accurate diagnoses, facilitate safer procedures, and bridge health care access gaps in resource-limited settings such as primary care; however, it is widely agreed that POCUS is operator-dependent and that appropriate education is required to competently operate the device. This integrative review sought to determine what education NPs need to competently operate POCUS in primary care and it was found that there is no data specific to NPs; much of the available information is instead within the medical literature. Given the numerous benefits of POCUS for improving patient care and health care systems efficiency, NPs must urgently determine their POCUS education needs as they have ethical and legal obligations, in addition to a professional responsibility to ensure safe, high-quality patient care.
