This is an in-depth introductory course. At completion of the course participants are expected to feel confident enough to start the life-time journey of learning POCUS. Successful completion of this course should be thought of as a beginning, not the end, of your training.
Teaching will mostly take one of the 3 forms: didactics, image review, and hands-on scanning, each lasting up to 1 hour. Each group will be small (no larger than 10 learners).
Scanning will be done on live models, some of them with identifiable sonographic pathology. The ratio of learner-to-instructor during hands-on sessions will not exceed 2:1.
Expect to spend 1 hour a day watching additional didactic video material which we will provide.
Aside from image acquisition, the course covers practical aspects of relevant fields of POCUS, pathology, integration into clinical practice, and evidence behind its use.
On the last day of the course there will be a written multiple-choice test and a practical skill test.
Written test: the test is in multiple choice format and includes only material specifically covered in the course.
Practical skill test: This will be administered on human models with 1-on-1 with the examiner. The following is the list of skills that will be taught in the course. For practical reasons, we cannot test participants’ performance on every task, and learners will be tested on a random subset of skills drawn from the list (by computer generated random number algorithm run on the last day of the course).
Two versions of a certificate of the course completion are available. Those who successfully pass both written and practical skill tests will receive a “certificate of successful completion of the course”. Those who do not will receive a “certificate of course attendance”. Both will be eligible for the same number of CME credits.
Only those who successfully pass both examinations will receive the certificate of completion. The passing grade on the written test is 80%.
Please note that, for the course to function smoothly, all scheduled activities will start exactly on time, regardless of the number of learners present at the time.