The Point of Care Ultrasound Interest Group is pleased to announce that the first annual Western Medical Student Ultrasound Symposium will take place August 24 and 25, 2013 at the state of the art Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advanced Robotics facility in London, Ontario. Nearly six months in the making and winner of the Hippocratic Council Innovator Grant, this educational initiative is the first of its kind in Canada. Registration is now open to medical students registered at any of Canada’s 17 accredited medical schools. Check out the promotional video and continue reading below for more details on this exciting event. Congratulations to all involved!
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What is point of care ultrasound?
Point of care ultrasonography (POCUS) refers to ultrasonography performed, interpreted and integrated in to the patient care plan by the physician in real time at the bedside. Images are obtained immediately and dynamically, permitting direct correlation with the patient’s presenting signs and symptoms. In addition, POCUS can be quickly repeated if the patient’s condition changes. Due to some comparable qualities to the physical exam, some authors have gone so far to call POCUS a “visual stethoscope.”
What is the main objective of this symposium?
The primary goal of this symposium is to provide medical students with hands-on learning experiences to improve bedside ultrasound skills. This will be achieved with the support of state of the art facilities and ultrasound machines, archiving software, phantom models and live human models with and without pathology, and internationally recognized ultrasound experts. In addition, senior medical student leaders will play an important role in organizing the event and running workshops, making this a true student-driven education initiative.
The two day event is jam-packed with hands-on learning opportunities:
Agenda – August 24, 2013
| 08:00 | Registration & Light Refreshments |
| 08:30 | Welcome & Keynote Lecture: Dr. Robert Arntfield Dr. Arntfield is an emergency physician, intensivist and traumatologist who is active with point of care ultrasound in all clinical areas. As a clinician-educator, he is co-director of ED ultrasound at Western and director of critical care ultrasound at Western. |
| 09:30 | Workshop 1: Focused Abdominal Aorta, Hepatobiliary & Renal Ultrasound This workshop will introduce abdominal applications of point of care ultrasound, with students getting the chance to scan the abdominal aorta, gallbladder and kidney of healthy standardized patients. In addition, students will learn how to identify an abdominal aortic aneurysm, cholelithiasis, cholecystitis, and hydronephrosis in the acute care setting. |
| 10:30 | Workshop 2: The Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST) Exam FAST is a non-invasive and critically important bedside assessment tool for timely diagnosis of life-threatening conditions, particularly when trauma is involved. Led by experienced emergency physicians and trauma surgeons, students will learn how to detect hidden internal bleeding in the abdominal cavity or around the heart via this systematic examination. |
| 11:30 | Lunch |
| 12:30 | Workshop 3: Focused Cardiac Ultrasound Through practice on standardized patients, students will begin to master the different views or “windows” of cardiac examination and gain a deeper understanding of cardiovascular anatomy and pathophysiology. In particular, students will begin to appreciate how cardiac ultrasound can help achieve focused clinical goals, including the assessment for pericardial effusion, global cardiac function and intravascular volume status. |
| 13:30 | Workshop 4: Focused Lung Ultrasound At this station, students will practice using ultrasound in their pulmonary evaluation, including in identifying pneumothorax, alveolar and interstitial edema, and pleural effusions. Students will also have the opportunity to practice draining a pleural effusion on a phantom model. |
| 14:30 | Day 1 Wrap-Up |
Agenda – August 25, 2013
| 09:00 | Registration & Light Refreshments |
| 09:30 | Workshop 5: Focused Obstetrical & Gynecological Ultrasound Students will learn obstetrical and gynecological anatomy as it appears sonographically. Findings of early pregnancy and free fluid in the female pelvis will also be discussed. Students will have an opportunity to transabdominally scan pregnant models as well as practice the transvaginal ultrasound approach on phantom models. |
| 10:30 | Workshop 6: Ultrasound Guided Central Line Placement & Regional Anesthesia Students will appreciate the advantages of ultrasound guidance relative to traditional approaches that rely on surface anatomy landmarks in reducing complications of commonly performed procedures. Hands-on experience will include ultrasound-guided central line placement and delivery of regional anesthesia. |
| 11:30 | Lunch |
| 12:30 | The POCUS Games An afternoon of fun and competition. Students will form alliances in competition for the elusive Sono Cup. Put your new found sonography skills to the test as you race against other teams to solve cases, scan patients and perform procedures. While only one team can win, all students will have the opportunity to self-scan and archive images of their own internal organs to bring home as “sono-venirs”. |
| 15:30 | Day 2 Wrap-Up & Social Event |
If you would like to promote this event to students at your institution, feel free to use our promotional poster, or link them to this page.
Promotional Offer!
Register by May 20, 2013 and you will automatically be entered for a chance to win free registration (value $150)! In addition, each of the following gets you an extra entry into this competition:
- Join the Point of Care Ultrasound Interest Group (Western students only)! Existing interest group members will automatically receive an entry.
- Follow Western Sono on Twitter! Existing followers on Twitter will automatically receive an entry.
- Like Western Sono on Facebook! Existing followers on Facebook will automatically receive an entry.
Draw to take place on August 15, 2013. Credit card used for online payment will be refunded.
