EM Ultrasound Fellowship

[cHocoBo 118]

Hey guys. I'm still only halfway through med school so there is still much I don't know. I have two questions. 1) I know how tough it is to land a solid residency spot but my question is, how hard is it to land fellowships? Specifically in US? Is it as gruesome as applying for medschool/residency? And 2) I know that most institutions now provide thorough training for their EM residents in the use of US. So if that is the case, what exactly are the benefits of doing a formal US fellowship? Thanks in advance.

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[Seaglass]

In EM fellowships in general are not that hard to obtain and there has been a recent proliferation of US fellowships so they're not that hard to get in general. The good ones are still somewhat competitive.

The general reason for doing an US fellowship is because you like US and want to learn more than you get in residency. I am at a fairly US intensive institution and I would say that all our residents graduate with competency in the core applications but don't get a chance to really get into ocular US, advanced echo, etc. US fellowship is also a way in to academic EM faculty positions and I would say that is where most fellows end up although some large groups look for a fellowship trained US person to head up their US program when they're getting it started.

 

[lucky_deadman]

Good to know. Thanks for the quick response seaglass. Are you interested in pursuing a US fellowship as well?

Seaglass is an U/S fellow.

 

[peksi]

The primary value of EM US Fellowships aside from skill set expertise and advanced applications and integration is understanding of the administrative needs of an educational, political, QA, billing aspects of program in addition to advanced applications etc. If you evaluate all non-ACGME fellowships they by far have a unique administrative skill set imbedded in them. My fellowship graduates have split about 75% academic 25% high income private with larger fee-for-service groups.

That said I have had a number of residents who have exited our program and direct EUS for their groups, but the positions that they hold versus my fellowship grads are night and day!

 

[Seaglass]

^^^ and what he said!

 

[bartleby]

IMHO, the value of the u/s fellowship is to cultivate a niche for yourself at the beginning of an academic career. You learn plenty of u/s in most programs to get you through clinical practice, and an ultrasound fellowship is overkill to be the ultrasound guy in a private group.

 

[roja]

As an intern, I read the O.John Ma book. Emergency Ultrasound. It was great. I love U/S, am sitting for RDMS this year and did 800+ scans during residency. I chose not to do fellowship because I realized I didn't want to be an u/s director. But I am still waiting for the U/S machine I can carry on my hip. I seriously don't know how EP's practice without one.

 

[pseudoknot]

As an intern, I read the O.John Ma book. Emergency Ultrasound. It was great. I love U/S, am sitting for RDMS this year and did 800+ scans during residency. I chose not to do fellowship because I realized I didn't want to be an u/s director. But I am still waiting for the U/S machine I can carry on my hip. I seriously don't know how EP's practice without one.

You should see this (only 700 grams):
http://medgadget.com/archives/2007/06/acuson_p10_an_ultrasound_system_that_fits_in_a_pocket.html

I think it was in an episode of Grey's Anatomy, so it must be good

Personally, I don't understand how you guys can see anything in those images, although I'm looking forward to learning. It seems like something that a good computer program/game could help a lot with, if it existed.

 

[roja]

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh. I want one!

 

[pseudoknot]

It can be yours for $9,499.00 according to one site I found. Who actually decides whether to buy stuff like this? The hospital? The U/S director?

 

[pseudoknot]

Hey, weren't you at St. Luke's Roosevelt?

http://www.vmix.com/video/1519648/

 

[roja]

Darn it. We need it in the ED, they dont' need that in the echo lab! g rrrrr.

 

[Seaglass]

I've used it. It's not that great. The word "sucks" comes to mind.