Emergency Ultrasound

Vision

EUS-IG aims to pool the expertise of the Department of Emergency Medicine’s faculty together

  1. To advance point of care ultrasound education at the department, hospital, and medical school levels.
  2. To collaborate on ultrasound research to advance the subspecialty of point of care ultrasound on an academic level.

Ultimately the vision of EUS-IG is to progress to the creation of a formal Division of Emergency Ultrasound.

What is Point of Care Ultrasound?

Point of care ultrasound is a paradigm shift from traditional consultative imaging to the concept of performing a focused study in real time to allow direct correlation with the patient’s signs and symptoms. It has been shown to improve outcomes, decrease costs, and decrease complications. The use of emergency ultrasound has been endorsed by organizations such as the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). It is now an integral part of the emergency medicine skill set. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) have identified ultrasound as a core competency for emergency medicine training.

Why an Interest Group in the Department of Emergency Medicine?

Because the scope of the Department is provincial, there is a wealth of ultrasound expertise among emergency medicine faculty from all corners of British Columbia. EUS-IG seeks to bring this expertise together to develop and support point of care ultrasound within the University of British Columbia’s medical programs and in the care of patients at our varied clinical sites.

Membership

Membership within the group includes, but is not restricted to physicians from all specialty areas with an interest in point of care ultrasound (i.e. emergency medicine, critical care, anesthesia, etc), medical students, nurses, and paramedics.

Contact

  • Daniel Kim, Vancouver General Hospital (Chair): dkim000@gmail.com
  • Donna Lee, Vancouver General Hospital
  • Maja Stachura, Vancouver General Hospital
  • Andrew Skinner, St. Paul’s Hospital
  • Jonathan Theoret, St. Paul’s Hospital
  • Geoff Sanz, Kelowna General Hospital
  • Frank Ackermann, East Kootenay Regional Hospital
  • Urbain Ip, Surrey Memorial Hospital