Emergency Medicine (Basic)
5.5 days
Basic Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Course (PoCUS)
(Procedural Guidance, AAA, DVT, eFAST, FELS, Lung, Early Pregnancy)
ASUM, ACEM, ACRRM, RACGP
Course highlights
- Ultrasound physics essentials
- Ultrasound machine orientation
- Transducer manipulation techniques
- Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) – normal anatomy and significant abnormality
- Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) practical examination
- Lung ultrasound in the breathless patient
- Focused Echocardiography in Life Support (FELS) – cardiac arrest scenarios
- Extended Focused Abdominal Scan for Trauma (eFAST) – normal anatomy, required views and significant pathology
- Procedural Guidance – ultrasound guided needling techniques with examples of vascular access, nerve block, aspirations and drain insertion
- Early Pregnancy – safe identification of a gestational sac and its location in early pregnancy emergencies
Course Dates
Description
This five and a half day Introduction to Emergency Ultrasound course is designed to meet ACEM requirements for fellowship, EMC, and EMD training but goes further with a half day introduction to the most popular addendum – early pregnancy emergencies.
This course takes complete novices right through the basics of machine orientation, probe manipulation, normal anatomy and simple protocols – to recognition of the more common life-threatening pathologies and the decisions that can be made from this new information.
The early pregnancy module is particularly useful for those from suburban, regional and rural placements, who see obstetric patients, but do not have the luxury of immediate 24-hour Sonographer cover. For these students, differentiating an intrauterine gestation sac from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy is a potentially life-saving skill, particularly for the night shift – while understanding the limitations of ultrasound for appropriate decision making and integration with guidelines.
Who should attend?
- Emergency Physician
- Geriatrician
- Junior House Officer
- Nurse
- Paediatrician
- Paramedic
- Retrieval Medicine Physician
- Rural Generalist
- Senior House Officer
Objectives
The objectives of this emergency ultrasound course are:
- Understand and optimise machine settings for safe implementation of each protocol;
- Define the indications and views needed for each protocol;
- Recognise and obtain good quality images for each protocol on real patient models;
- Illustrate the implementation of each protocol using case-based quizzes;
- Recognise pathology within the context of a clinical scenario;
- Discuss, evaluate and justify clinical decision making in the light of the information obtained;
- Discuss the merits of in-plane and out-of-plane techniques for specific situations;
- Explain the required hygiene measures for each procedure;
- Apply a range of techniques to facilitate procedures;
- Synthesise six new tools to model multi-system scanning, with the aim of improving patient care.
Prerequisites
The prior ultrasound experience assumed for this course is highlighted below.
| None/Minimal | Don’t use ultrasound |
| Limited | Use ultrasound weekly/monthly |
| Moderate/Experienced | Use ultrasound daily/weekly |
Accreditation
ASUM
ASUMCCPU units included in the course:
- Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA)
- Proximal Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
- Extended Focused Abdominal Scan for Trauma (eFAST)
- Focused Echocardiography in Life Support (FELS)
- Lung
- Basic Early Pregnancy
- Vascular Access (6.5 myASUM CPD points)
ACEM
ACEMApproved for 44.75 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours as complying with ACEM standards and policies. Approved for Educational Activities 21 hours, Reviewing Performance 23.75 hours.
ACRRM
ACRRMThis course is approved for 44.75 total activity hours. PDP units: 23.75 Performance Review, 15.5 Educational Activity. MOPS points: 6, 30. Grant eligibility: Emergency Medicine, Anaesthetics, Obstetrics, Surgery.
RACGP
RACGPCPD Approved Activity under RACGP 2023-25 CPD program. Approved for Educational Activities 9.5 hours, Reviewing Performance 30 hours, specific requirements diagnostic radiology, 5 days Anaesthetics, Obstetrics, Surgery and 3 days Emergency Medicine training grants. Provider Number 214288, Activity ID 664660.
HOURS
| Theoretical | 12.5 |
| Practical | 23.75 |
| Total | 36.25 |
CATERING
Morning tea, a light lunch and refreshments are provided each day.