CHESTBlogImprove Your Skills at the Bedside With CHEST’s Thorough Ultrasound Courses

Improve Your Skills at the Bedside With CHEST’s Thorough Ultrasound Courses

By: Katlyn Campbell

February 27, 2023

Ultrasonography is a tool that care providers at all levels are encouraged to incorporate into their practice. This standard of care is essential for the evaluation and management of acutely ill hospitalized patients. And, proficiency with point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is especially useful when managing patients with respiratory failure or hemodynamic instability.

Learners at an ultrasonography course. This year, CHEST is offering five unique hands-on simulation courses for clinicians looking to expand their training in ultrasound techniques for practice at the bedside. This five-part course series helps you build skills in critical care image interpretation and application.

“Most educational institutions are still in the process of fully developing adequate curricula for critical care and other point-of-care ultrasound. These courses provide an important supplementary pathway to reach competence in both knowledgeable interpretation and skillful application of this new bedside technology,” said ultrasonography faculty member, Gisela Banauch, MD, FCCP.

Prior to attending any CHEST simulation course, learners complete a virtual knowledge assessment and an on-site pretest. These tests help faculty organize attendees in groups designed for optimal learning.

“Everybody can learn in concert in the group that works for them,” said Ultrasonography: Essentials in Critical Care Chair, Yonatan Y. Greenstein, MD, FCCP.

Plus, these courses “arrange for individualized in-person training in small groups with very low instructor-to-trainee ratios during the hands-on scanning sessions,” said Dr. Banauch—offering face-to-face time with top experts.

Ultrasonography: Essentials in Critical Care

The beginner-level course in the series helps learners grasp the basic building blocks of image acquisition and interpretation. Leaders in POCUS teach practical solutions using interactive trainings, human models, and high-quality ultrasound machines.

Dr. Greenstein described this course as “the gateway to all point-of-care ultrasonography.”

“We take novice practitioners and we teach them all the basic tenets of point-of-care ultrasonography, from echocardiography to deep vein thrombosis studies to lung ultrasonography,” said Dr. Greenstein.

The content is relevant to physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, and other clinicians in a wide variety of specialties.

Critical Care Ultrasound: Integration into Clinical Practice

The next course in the series integrates basic skills in ultrasonography to manage complex cases. You’ll learn how to assess patients with critical illness using a systematized method for whole-body ultrasonography.

Learner at an ultrasonography course “One of the benefits [of ultrasound] is for patients and their families—they can see what you’re seeing,” said Critical Care Ultrasound: Integration into Clinical Practice Chair, Paru Patrawalla, MD, FCCP. “You can explain to them with visuals what is going on in their body and what's abnormal and help them to understand the disease process.”

Having this skill is vital for communicating with patients and building a stronger patient-clinician relationship.

Advance your professional career with the Critical Care Ultrasonography Certificate of Completion (COC). You’re almost there—by attending the Ultrasonography: Essentials in Critical Care and Critical Care Ultrasonography: Integration into Clinical Practice courses, you’re two-fifths of the way to earning your COC. Learn how you can complete this program.

Advanced Critical Care Echocardiography Image Acquisition and Interpretation Learners at a critical care course with a live model.

During this course, learners will master advanced echocardiography skills, allowing them to take their patient management to the next level. National Board of Echocardiography-certified faculty guide attendees in performing and interpreting a full advanced critical care echocardiography exam. Plus, get intensive training on image acquisition, image interpretation, and the cognitive basis of advanced critical care echocardiography.

Critical Care Echocardiography Exam (CCEeXAM) Virtual Board Review

This virtual course is designed for learners looking to prepare for the National Board of Echocardiography Examination of Special Competence in Critical Care Echocardiography (CCEeXAM).

Learners will have access to more than 180 questions, case-based discussions, question-and-answer sessions with faculty, and a 50-question practice exam. Faculty will focus on the advanced critical care echocardiography (ACCE) knowledge base.

Critical Care Transesophageal Echocardiography

At this new course, intensivists will learn a skill useful for the ICU: transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Those already using TEE or those who want to develop these skills are encouraged to attend. Learners will gain experience with TEE image acquisition using TEE simulators and build expertise with image interpretation. Faculty will also review relevant clinical applications of TEE and hands-on techniques for probe manipulation.

CHEST’s five-part simulation course series on critical care image interpretation and application gives learners of all different levels a chance to curate their ultrasound skills—whether this is your first time touching a POCUS machine or your 10th.

"I remember my first time as a fellow being fortunate enough to attend a CHEST course," said Ultrasonography: Essentials in Critical Care Chair and Ultrasonography Domain Task Force Chair, Gulrukh Zaidi, MD, FCCP. "The exposure that you get to faculty and other learners from across the country really helps you see things in a different light and gives you confidence in your own skills."