2W: Point of Care Ultrasonography (POCUS) in the Emergency Department

School of Medicine

Students will be introduced to point-of-care ultrasonography with specific emphasis on its use in the acute care setting. Students will learn about sonography both through web-based resources and videos as well as during weekly didactic sessions. In addition, students will spend several shifts in the Emergency Department each week both observing and performing point-of-care sonography under the guidance of the Director and Assistant Director of Emergency Ultrasound, Emergency Ultrasound Fellows, and Emergency Medicine residents. At the conclusion of the two-week elective rotation, students will be able to describe the appropriate use and application of point-of-care sonography in multiple clinical scenarios. They will be able to recognize normal and pathologic ultrasound images of several core applications. They will acquire the necessary technical skills to operate the ultrasound machine and to obtain images for several important studies including FAST (Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma), cardiac, abdominal aorta, renal, and soft tissue.