Article | NOV 19, 2025
Presented at AHA 2025, this project tackles a critical gap in cardiac care for American Indians, for whom heart disease is a leading cause of death. Rural communities often face barriers to early diagnosis and access to cardiac services. To expand local screening, Community Health Representatives (CHRs) were trained to perform point-of-care screening echocardiography with AI-assisted interpretation (POCSE-AI).
Research Question:
Is a competency-based curriculum an effective method of training CHRs to independently utilize POCSE-AI to detect heart disease?
Curriculum Design:
A 14-image POCSE-AI protocol was developed, combined with:
- Asynchronous online didactics
- Two-day hands-on workshops
- Six months of deliberate practice with expert mentorship at community-based screening events
CHRs progressed through competency assessments, including tests of knowledge, image acquisition, and diagnostic quality. Final certification required a professional skills exam and submission of five AI-confirmed studies meeting clinical standards.
This approach shows how task-shifting with structured, competency-based training can equip novices to deliver life-saving cardiac screening in underserved rural communities.
Building Echo Competency for Novices: A Curriculum Design" loading="lazy" decoding="async">
Thoroughman, R., Loizaga, S. de, Adams, D., Beaton, A., Buonfiglio, S., Danforth, K., Masyuko, S., Miller, M., Mrinal Yadava, & Riley, A. (2025). Abstract 4366651: A Competency-Based Screening Echocardiography Curriculum Designed for Rural American Indian Community Health Representatives. Circulation, 152(Suppl_3). https://doi.org/10.1161/circ.152.suppl_3.4366651