Emergency Ultrasound Program

Training Program

Overview

There has been tremendous growth in the use of ultrasound by Emergency Physicians in the last few decades. We are performing and interpreting these studies at the patient’s bedside in order to rapidly rule out life threatening conditions, deliver timely care, and aid in procedures. In 2001, the American College of Emergency Physicians released training guidelines for the performance of Emergency Ultrasound. This document continues to serve as a critical resource for Emergency Physicians who are looking to acquire skills in the basic applications: E-FAST, pelvic, gallbladder, renal, aorta, cardiac, and vascular access. Since then, the Residency Review Committee (RRC) has mandated that the performance and interpretation of emergency ultrasound is included in Emergency Medicine training curriculum. This was a huge step toward the advancement of this skills set in our specialty.

We are pleased to announce that start of our brand new Emergency Ultrasound elective. Our clerkship director, Dr. Rajesh Geria, actively used ultrasound in his residency and completed a fellowship in emergency ultrasound. He is a board certified Emergency Physician and a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. Dr. Geria currently does bedside teaching of these skills to attendings, physician assistants, nurses and core Emergency Medicine clerkship students. He feels medical students are at an ideal stage in their career to gain experience in ultrasound and that the Emergency Department provides a perfect clinical setting to learn this skills set. The student will have a unique opportunity to obtain images and integrate their findings with specific clinical problems right at the bedside of the patient! This exposure is only being offered at a handful of universities across nation is beneficial to students interested in any medical / surgical specialty.

Educational Objectives

Students will receive weekly didactic and bedside instruction by Dr. Geria in several basic emergency ultrasound applications: E-FAST, pelvic, aorta, cardiac, renal, gallbladder, and vascular access. He will emphasize clinical indications, limitations, and scan protocols. The student will also learn basic ultrasound physics /knobology and become familiar with the operation of our portable ultrasound machine. Dr. Geria will demonstrate image acquisition and optimization techniques. Students will have the opportunity to learn ultrasound guided vascular access and pelvic ultrasound using state of the art gel phantom models. The student will participate in weekly office based QA sessions where Dr. Geria reviews all ultrasound video from the department. During this time the student will have a chance to interpret normal anatomy, identify specific pathology and learn how the user could have better optimized images. He/she will also get feedback on the scans they have performed the prior week. In addition to direct scan and didactic time with Dr. Geria, the student will be required to scan once a month with another experienced attending physician, individually scan in the department once a week, and present one clinical case at the department faculty meeting at the end of the month. Dr. Geria will also assign independent reading. A written and practical exam is optional and highly recommended.

At the end of this elective the student should be able to:

Understand the role of bedside ultrasound in the Emergency Department
Learn indications, limitations, scan protocols of each application: FAST, pelvic, renal, gallbladder, aorta, cardiac, DVT
Develop skills in the performance and interpretation of basic bedside ultrasound applications: FAST, pelvic, renal, gallbladder, aorta, cardiac, DVT
Be able to place an IV into a gel model under ultrasound guidance

** This rotation is only offered to 4th year medical students. It is available in 2 or a 4-week block however the 4-week track is highly recommended, as the material to be covered is vast.

Please contact Diane Wormann at wormandi@umdnj.edu 732-235-8783 for more information about the course or Dan Ostin at (732)235-4565 to register for the course. We expect this elective to fill up quickly. We offer space on a first come first serve basis.

Schedule

Teaching Points

Scan/ Lab Shift Schedule .pdf

QA Schedule