Training activity information
Details
Assess a scanner and/or transducer with a fault and draft a plan for repair and/or mitigation of the issue
Type
Entrustable training activity (ETA)
Evidence requirements
Evidence the activity has been undertaken by the trainee repeatedly, consistently, and effectively over time, in a range of situations. This may include occasions where the trainee has not successfully achieved the outcome of the activity themselves. For example, because it was not appropriate to undertake the task in the circumstances or the trainees recognised their own limitations and sought help or advice to ensure the activity reached an appropriate conclusion.
Reflection at multiple timepoints on the trainee learning journey for this activity.
Considerations
- Local SOPs
- Local and national guidance
- Safety issues and risks
- OEM vs 3rd party vs in house repairs
- Impact of repair on medical device status
- Impact on acoustic output
- Impact on image quality
- Clinical utility
- Electronic testing systems, including 3rd party and internal
Reflective practice guidance
The guidance below is provided to support reflection at different time points, providing you with questions to aid you to reflect for this training activity. They are provided for guidance and should not be considered as a mandatory checklist. Trainees should not be expected to provide answers to each of the guidance questions listed.
Before action
- What does success look like for assessing a faulty scanner/transducer and drafting a plan for repair/mitigation?
- What specific elements should a comprehensive fault assessment include? What details are crucial for a clear repair/mitigation plan?
- Discuss with your Training Officer to gain clarity on specific expectations for the depth of assessment, the format of the repair plan, and the acceptable mitigation strategies.
- What is your prior experience of assessing faulty equipment or similar diagnostic tasks?
- Think about what you already know regarding ultrasound scanner components, common transducer faults, or troubleshooting methodologies. Have you encountered any minor equipment issues before? What diagnostic steps did you take?
- Consider possible challenges you might face during this activity e.g., intermittent faults, complex system interactions, lack of specific diagnostic tools and think about how you might handle them.
- When would you need to seek advice or help, and from whom e.g., senior colleagues, service engineers, manufacturers’ documentation? What defines a fault that is beyond your immediate capability to diagnose or plan rectification for?
- Do you feel confident in your diagnostic abilities, or are there areas where you anticipate needing more support?
- Consider the specific skills you want to develop, drawing upon any previous experiences with equipment troubleshooting or quality assurance. Are you aiming to improve your logical deduction skills, your ability to interpret error codes, or your communication with service personnel?
- Identify the specific insights you hope to gain from engaging with this activity. For example, do you want to understand the typical failure modes of specific transducer types, or the process for escalating a major equipment fault within the department?
- Consult any actions identified following previous experiences related to equipment performance or quality assurance. Did you previously note a need to familiarise yourself with the department’s fault reporting system or equipment manuals?
- Identify important information you need to consider before embarking on the assessment, such as the equipment’s history, recent quality assurance data, or relevant safety guidelines.
In action
- During the assessment, is anything unexpected occurring?
- Is the fault presenting differently than initially anticipated?
- Are the troubleshooting steps yielding unexpected results or leading to a new, unforeseen issue?
- How is this assessment comparing to previous experiences you’ve had with equipment faults?
- Are you discovering a secondary fault you hadn’t expected?
- How are you reacting to the unexpected development during the assessment?
- Are you immediately changing your diagnostic approach or testing methods?
- Is the unexpected finding impacting upon your confidence in identifying the core issue or drafting the repair plan?
- Are you able to adapt your thinking to incorporate the new information and still proceed effectively with assessing the fault?
- Is this unexpected element affecting your ability to work independently on the assessment?
- What is the conclusion or outcome of your in-action adaptation?
- How are you ensuring that any immediate decisions or actions you are taking during the assessment remain within your scope of practice?
- What new insight or learning are you gaining instantly about fault diagnosis or equipment behaviour due to the unexpected development?
- Are you able to successfully adjust your plan to address the fault even with the unexpected element?
On action
- What happened during the fault assessment and planning?
- Summarise the specific fault identified in the scanner and/or transducer and the diagnostic steps you followed.
- Detail the plan you drafted for repair and/or mitigation, including any immediate decisions or changes made during the assessment (your ‘reflect-in-action’ moments).
- Describe any specific observations or measurements taken, and any surprising or different findings from what you anticipated.
- How did you feel throughout the process, particularly when faced with unexpected developments or adapting your approach?
- How has this experience contributed to your developing practice in equipment management?
- What strengths did you demonstrate in troubleshooting, fault identification, or drafting a practical plan?
- What skills or knowledge gaps were evident regarding specific equipment types, fault patterns, or repair methodologies? For example, did you realise you needed to learn more about transducer repair and electronic transducer testing?
- Compare this assessment to previous experiences you’ve had with equipment faults; has your practice improved in assessing performance and safety of ultrasound scanners?
- Did you encounter challenges in identifying the core issue or formulating the repair plan? How did you react, and were you able to overcome them?
- Did you need to seek advice or clarification from a training officer or assessor on complex aspects of the fault or the scope of your intervention?
- Did you ensure you worked within your scope of practice when drafting the repair or mitigation plan?
- What will you take from this experience moving forward in equipment assessment and management?
- What specific actions will you take to enhance your ability to assess equipment faults and draft repair plans, particularly for advanced ultrasound equipment?
- Will you refine your diagnostic approach or seek further training on specific fault types?
- Has anything changed in your approach to managing ultrasound equipment or knowing when to decommission or redeploy it?
- Do you need to practice any aspect of this activity further, perhaps focusing on different scanner or transducer types?
Beyond action
- Have you revisited previous experiences of assessing equipment faults and drafting plans?
- Looking back at your ‘reflect-before-action’ notes, what did you anticipate learning or improving? Have these anticipations been met over multiple engagements with this activity?
- Review your ‘reflect-in-action’ observations from previous fault assessments. Have you consistently demonstrated the ability to adapt your approach when unexpected issues arise, such as unusual fault patterns or troubleshooting challenges?
- Reflecting on your ‘reflect-on-action’ conclusions, what specific actions did you identify for improving your fault diagnosis, mitigation planning, or communication of technical issues? For example, did you identify a need to learn more about transducer repair and electronic transducer testing? Have you actively pursued and completed these actions, and are you now ready to demonstrate improved competence in identifying and planning for complex faults?
- Engage in professional storytelling with a peer or training officer about a particularly challenging fault assessment. How has discussing this with others, perhaps comparing approaches to a similar fault, transformed your understanding or problem-solving strategy for assessing the performance and safety of ultrasound scanners?
- How have these aggregated experiences impacted your current practice in equipment management?
- How will your accumulated learning from multiple fault assessments and repair planning activities support you in preparing for observed assessments?
- How has your practice in planning the management of ultrasound equipment developed and evolved over time, specifically in recognising when a fault is beyond your immediate scope of practice and requires escalation or external expertise?
Relevant learning outcomes
| # | Outcome |
|---|---|
| # 1 |
Outcome
Use ultrasound scanners, applying basic and advanced modality controls. |
| # 3 |
Outcome
Assess the performance and safety of ultrasound scanners used in common clinical applications, including advanced imaging techniques. |
| # 4 |
Outcome
Appy image processing techniques to extract information from ultrasound images. |
| # 5 |
Outcome
Plan the management of ultrasound equipment in a healthcare setting. |