Point of Care Ultrasound
The Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) curriculum at St. Margaret’s was created to teach, support, and prepare residents to expand their clinical skills by adopting innovative diagnostic techniques to optimize patient care.
Area of Concentration (AOC)
This is a longitudinal curriculum designed to incorporate POCUS throughout all three years of residency with the goal of demonstrating basic competency by graduation. Generally, this involves both asynchronous learning (for example, video modules) as well as hands-on education (for example, scanning with faculty). Built into the AOC is a 2- or 4-week ultrasound elective available to take in your second and third years of residency allowing dedicated time to work with general and vascular sonographers, interventional radiology (if you want to work on US-guided procedures), and with radiology faculty to interpret ultrasound scans. Each of the three family health centers has a portable ultrasound machine (SonoSite X-porte) allowing for a streamlined incorporation of POCUS into everyday outpatient practice. In addition to the ultrasound machines available in the ICU and ER departments, we own four handheld ultrasounds (Butterfly IQ) for residents to use as needed during inpatient rotations. Lastly, residents will have financial support to enroll and complete a formal credentialing program (for example, INMED Primary Care Ultrasound or POCUS Academy Generalist Certificate) by graduation.
UPMC St. Margaret Family Medicine Residency program is committed to teaching point-of-care ultrasound because it is portable, provides real-time information, and most importantly, improves patient care. We are committed to making the opportunities for learning accessible and realistically achievable.
Additional Information: