Faculty in the Discipline of Emergency Medicine have developed PoCUS elective opportunities that can be tailored to the needs of the learner. During the rotation, residents obtain significant exposure to the use of bedside ultrasound and have the opportunity to complete IP certification.

Resident/Fellow PoCUS Elective

The discipline of Emergency Medicine is pleased to offer a one block elective in Point of Care Ultrasound to 3rd year EM residents and GIM fellows as scheduling allows. The focus of this elective will be attaining Canadian Point of Care Ultrasound Society (CPOCUS) Independent Practitioner (IP) status, if not already obtained, and gaining comfort with some more advanced scanning applications. More information can be found here.

A prerequisite is to have attended a C-POCUS certified AC Core POCUS course (like the Memorial University’s PGY1 or FM Intro to POCUS course). 

Residents will be scheduled for some one-on-one scanning sessions with POCUS expert emergency physicians and internists and some solo scanning sessions as well.  During these sessions, learners would seek out scans from willing volunteers in the ED. Additional sessions in the echo lab, ICU, and the radiology department will offer exposure to US guided procedures, diagnostic scans and serve as an introduction to advanced PoCUS techniques.

To attempt the IP exam the student must obtain determinate scans in the following areas:

• 50 Abdominal for Free-Fluid (FF) assessment; 
• 50 Sub-Xiphoid Cardiac for Pericardial Effusion (PCE) & Global function; 
• 50 Abdominal Aorta to rule-out Aneurysm (AAA); and 
• 50 Female Pelvis for FF and 1st trimester Intra-Uterine Pregnancy (IUP) or Live IUP (LIUP)
• 10 Thorax for Pneumothorax
• 10 Thorax for Pleural effusion

To be clear, this is 220 total determinate scans.

This is an elective for self directed mature learners and as such the learning experience will depend heavily on how much time and effort is invested. Acquiring sufficient determinate scans can be quite challenging, in particular 1st trimester OB and these scans should be prioritized by the learner. At the mid point of the rotation any areas that are behind pace for completion should be discussed with your elective supervisor. Extra hours can be arranged if desired. 

Residents may apply to seek a AC Core Limited IP status (for example, GIM residents often omit the early pregnancy scans), these will be considered on a case by case basis. In this situation, one or more of the core applications is omitted from training and certification. This information should be discussed when applying for the elective.  Please note that 59 pelvises still need to be scanned for free fluid, even if omitting certification for early pregnancy.

Completion of the introductory course and attempting the IP exam both will require a student membership in CPOCUS at a cost of $25 to the learner. Full certification costs a further $100 and includes full membership in CPOCUS. Memorial University EM faculty are not directly involved in CPOCUS and do not benefit from membership dues in this society.

Leave and absences: Standard PGME rules apply. If the learner desires a particular block of time off, they will request it in the usual manner used for other core and elective rotations. Notify your elective supervisor of any unplanned leave that may occur.

This block will generally not be available during blocks 1,2, 7,8 or block 13 as preceptors are not available at these times.

Your final exam includes written, visual, and practical components and takes in total about 6 hours. It is based on the curriculum provided in our course plus the text “Essentials of Point of Care Ultrasound”.

Please note: It is not guaranteed that the learner will obtain all required scans in the time allotted, nor is it guaranteed that IP status will be obtained by the end of the block. If there are extenuating circumstances why the exam is not completed, the discipline of EM may arrange for an examination at a later date at our discretion.