Article Tags: medical education

Integrating Point of Care Ultrasound into Nephrology Fellowship Training: Insights from a Pilot Program

Ann Young, MD PhD; Benoit Imbeault, MD; Alberto Goffi, MD; Alireza Zahirieh, MD; Claire Kennedy, MD; Daniel Blum, MDCM; Ron Wald, MDCM MPH; William Beaubien-Souligny, MD PhD – In nephrology, point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has multiple applications including the rapid evaluation of acute kidney injury, enhancing the initial evaluation of chronic kidney disease, direct evaluation of vascular access, and improved fluid balance management in acute and chronic settings. Recently, the role of POCUS has been formally acknowledged by the American College of Physicians and curricula specific to nephrology have been proposed.

Nephrology Fellowship Clinician-Performed Ultrasound Curriculum

Nathaniel Reisinger, MD; Nova Panebianco, MD, MPH – Fluid overload (FO) contributes significantly to the development of cardiovascular disease among patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) on hemodialysis (HD), yet remains underappreciated due to limitations of the physical exam. Lung ultrasound (US) is an established tool for quantification of FO.

Pilot Project: Does formal bedside training of medical students with a FAST exam increase their knowledge and comfort level with ultrasound use in a community family medicine practice setting?

by Rimi Sambi, MD and Heather Sawula, MD; Brent Wolfrom, MD; and Joseph Newbigging, MD –

As point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) becomes increasingly popular and a standard of care in many clinical settings, the interest for integration in medical undergraduate curriculum is also growing. This project aims to assess whether formal bedside Focused Abdominal Scan for Trauma (FAST) exam training of medical students increases their knowledge and comfort with the use of bedside ultrasound in a family medicine setting at Queen’s University.