For years, our residents have been trained to use bedside ultrasound to safely perform common procedures, including the placement of central lines, thoracentesis, and paracentesis. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has now grown into a powerful bedside tool used to augment the physical assessment and guide treatment decisions in real time.
At Providence St. Vincent, all interns participate in a dedicated POCUS training session during orientation that includes hands-on scanning with standardized patients. We also offer a 1-week POCUS elective in which residents participate in mentored scanning sessions, echocardiographer shadowing, and didactic reviews covering the fundamentals of image acquisition, interpretation, and clinical integration across multiple scanning areas, including cardiac, lung, abdominal, and skin/soft tissue. These electives are tailored to the trainee, their level of experience, and future interests. Our residents also have access to both handheld and cart-based ultrasound equipment to provide a broad understanding of the benefits and limitations of the technology.
