Department of
Emergency Medicine

Ultrasound in Emergency and Clinical Medicine

The elective Ultrasound in Emergency and Clinical Medicine is intended to introduce the student to the use of bedside ultrasound in clinical medicine with an emphasis on applications pertinent to emergency medicine but including applications with utility in most clinical specialties. This elective will assist in preparing the student for most clinical internships and residencies. As the use of bedside ultrasound continues to grow in clinical medicine, it is becoming an indispensable tool that more graduating students will need to understand and utilize efficiently.

The Ultrasound in Emergency and Clinical Medicine medical student elective rotation is popular with WVU School of Medicine and visiting medical students from across the country. The rotation includes US scanning shifts in our ED, an ultrasound-guided procedure lab, and image review sessions during the 2-week rotation with the goal to learn applications and techniques of bedside point-of-care ultrasound.

We accept fourth year medical students from WVU and visiting medical students from LCME accredited medical schools.

The emphasis is on hands-on teaching and informal as well as formal discussions of the appropriate clinical indications for bedside ultrasound, as well as image acquisition, image interpretation, and incorporation of ultrasound into the entire clinical picture to influence decision-making.

Clinical Experience:

  • A flexible schedule of 7 scanning shifts with dedicated ultrasound faculty at UHC and Ruby ER
  • Students perform ultrasound studies in the emergency department on emergency patients with direction and direct observation by emergency medicine faculty, fellows, residents, and a dedicated sonographer.

Curriculum:

  • Online didactic material includes a lecture series recorded by our ultrasound faculty. Lectures cover basic principles of ultrasound physics and image acquisition as well as commonly used applications of bedside ultrasound. Image interpretation and incorporation into clinical decision making is emphasized.
  • Students participate in two image-review sessions with ultrasound fellows.
  • Students participate in an ultrasound-guided procedure lab in our state-of-the-art simulation center.
  • Students have self-directed study with reading assignments.

Applying

Please feel free to contact our Clerkship Coordinator, Haley Brewer haley.brewer@wvumedicine.org or our Clerkship Directors, Dr. Justine Pagenhardt at jpagenha@hsc.wvu.edu or Dr. Clara Kraft at chkraft@hsc.wvu.edu with any questions regarding our clinical rotation.