Curriculum Description
The goals of the fellowship are to provide mentored career development in the use of bedside ultrasound; knowledge of image and data management; skills in the reviewing and quality assurance of ultrasound images and clips; skills in the administration of an emergency ultrasound program; and skills in emergency ultrasound curriculum development. The Ultrasound Fellow will have a faculty appointment with Emory as a Clinical Instructor in Emergency Medicine.
This one-year fellowship has an overall goal of developing a clinical sonologist with mastery of clinical ultrasound. The fellow will be proficient in the administration of an ultrasound program, ultrasound education at various levels of learning, and a master at the point-of-care ultrasound performance.
Objectives
Ultrasound performance
The fellow will become an expert at the performance of point-of-care ultrasound. This will include both basic ultrasound and what is currently considered advanced. The objective is for the fellow to be an “ultrasound consultant” in their future ED, to assist any physician or other provider performing ultrasound in the ED.
Basic topics
- Basic transthoracic echocardiography
- Thoracic (lung)
- IVC
- Biliary
- Aorta
- First-trimester pregnancy
- Focused assessment sonography in trauma (FAST)
- Deep Venous Thrombosis
- Renal
- Bladder
- Central and peripheral IV placement
- Soft tissue
- Femoral nerve block
- Ocular
- Thora/paracentesis
Advanced topics
- Bowel
- Advanced echo
- Airway
- Adnexal/Uterine
- Testicular
- ENT
- Musculoskeletal
- Appendicitis
- Pyloric stenosis
- Intussusception
- Advanced vascular
- Nerve blocks
- Lumbar Puncture
Administration
Quality Assurance
- Describe the goals and mechanisms of quality assurance
- Independently assess ultrasound scans for adequacy
- Give appropriate feedback to sonologist
- Describe methods of remediation for non-compliant sonologist
Machine Selection and Maintenance
- Understand the basic functioning of the ultrasound machine
- Describe what type of vendor and biomedical engineering specialist has expertise in machine maintenance
- Understand the various factors that go into machine selection
Credentialing
- Describe why credentialing is important for ultrasound
- Understand the ACEP credentialing guidelines
- Describe the mechanism of credentialing sonographers
Billing
- Describe the CPT coding system
- Describe documentation requirements for billing
- Describe image storage requirements
Education
- Develop curriculum for education for various levels of learners
- Develop expertise at teaching ultrasound at the bedside
- Use ultrasounds seamlessly in slides during lectures on ultrasound
Research
- Develop a scholarly or research project or significantly advance an ongoing project
Fellowship Requirements
Ultrasound Performance
- Attend weekly didactic lectures on Wednesday mornings
- Perform 8 hours of ultrasound scanning independently weekly
- Read any assigned reading prior to the didactic sessions
- Arrangements can be made for scanning in other departments for specific skill acquisition not available in the ED (e.g., TEE)
Administration
- Participate in the weekly quality assurance sessions on Wednesday afternoon
- Lead the QA sessions during the last quarter of the year
- Participate in any machine maintenance related issues
- Participate in any meetings regarding machine purchasing, if applicable
- Participate in ultrasound section meetings, occurring monthly
- Attend the Basic Ultrasound Management Course at ACEP or the tristate ultrasound fellowship conference in New York City.
- Read and be familiar with the latest ACEP Emergency Ultrasound Guidelines
Education
- Perform scanning shifts with the residents on ultrasound rotation
- Lead the ultrasound teaching half-day for rotating 4th-year medical students
- Participate in MUSE, the medical student ultrasound teaching curriculum for 1st-year medical students
- Deliver a lecture at the resident conference on an ultrasound topic, as determined by the residency leadership
- Participate in any ultrasound-related faculty education
- Deliver three or more lectures to the ultrasound section annually, on any ultrasound topic of the fellow's choosing
Research/Scholarship
- Develop a research project or scholarly activity in the first quarter and have advanced it significantly by the end of the fellowship. Alternatively, a fellow may take on a project left over by a previous fellow or play a significant role in an ongoing faculty project.
- Optional lectures on grant writing and other research topics if desired by the fellow.