University International Taskforce for Ecography & Development
WINFOCUS is developing a project for the foundation of an “University-like” section with trans-national structure, the ‘University International Task-force for Echography and Development’, in the frame of the USCME and Primary Ultrasound programs.
Prof Richard Hoppmann, Associate Dean of South Carolina University (Columbia, SC, USA), is chairing the project.
The network plan is involving universities from USA, Brazil, Italy, Slovenia, Romania, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, China, Madagascar, Malaysia, South Korea, Mozambique, Lesotho. Such a task-force aims to spread global ultrasound practice throughout all the critical scenarios, backing academically WINFOCUS worldwide action, delivering recommendations and guidelines for under-graduate and post-graduate ultrasound curricula, cooperating with universities in under-served regions for an overall enhancement of their curricula and educational activity.
Such a growing network has inspired the “First World Congress on UltraSound in Medical Education”, held on April 2011, and hosted by the South Carolina University, in Columbia (SC, USA).
Curriculum Components
Pre-Graduate
Ultrasound for medical students, and other affiliated sciences trainees
Focus on basic disciplines, such as Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, and clinical components, such as Internal and Emergency Medicine, Surgery, O&G
Post-Graduate
Residents and Specialists in ‘critical’ medical areas.
Focus on Emergency Medicine, Critical/Intensive Care, Anesthesiology, Surgery, Pediatrics, General Practice … and beyond.
US MON UltraSound Minitoring (in Intensive Care Unit)
- ECHO ICU (Echocardiography in Intensive Care Unit) (Sample)
- LUNG US ICU (Lung UltraSound in Intensive Care Unit)
USLS UltraSound Life Support
- USLS (UltraSound Life Support®)
- Basic & Advanced, ABCDE & Head-to-Toes
- ACLS/ACS & ATLS conformed
- USTLS (UltraSound Trauma Life Support)
- Basic & Advanced, ABCDE & Head-to-Toes
- ATLS conformed
- USCLS (UltraSound Cardio-Pulmonary Life Support)
- Basic & Advanced, ABCDE
- ACLS/ALS conformed
- USPHLS (UltraSound PreHospital Life Support)
- Basic & Advanced, ABCDE & Head-to-Toes
- ACLS/ALS & PHLS/PTC conformed
- USTRIAGE (UltraSound Disaster Triage)
- Basic, Primary & Secondary Triage
- Start/Cesira conformed
- USPLS (UltraSound Pediatric & Neonatal Life Support)
- Basic & Advanced, ABCDE & Head-to-Toes
- PALS conformed
- ECHO LS (Echocardiography Life Support)
- Basic & Advanced, ABCDE
- FEEL & ACLS/ALS conformed (sample)
- US AIR (UltraSound Airway Management)
- US BLOCK (UltraSound Nerve Blockage)
- USCVA (UltraSound Central Vascular Access)
- GAVeCeLT & Besta Hospital format conformed (sample)
- USPVA (UltraSound Peripheral Vascular Access)
- GAVeCeLT & Besta Hospital format conformed (sample)
- US NURSE (UltraSound Nursing Care)
US PHC UltraSound Primary Health Care
- US GP (UltraSound in General Practice and Family Medicine)
- PRIMUS (Primary UltraSound, for scarce-resource settings)
USCMC Curriculum
UltraSound Critical Management Certification
The USCMC Global Program is the USCME component devoted to develop ‘Critical Ultrasound’ education, certification, credentialing, accreditation, integrating at different extents education and healthcare institutions, through post-graduate CME programs.
It is designed and developed together with the UNITED Program (the project focusing university pre-graduate and post-graduate curricula), within the frame of the USCME Global Initiative.
At date, three main curricula are being developed focusing basic and advanced applications for three main bundles of practice:
USLS (UltraSound Life Support)
- Ultrasound in Acute, Emergency and Critical Care.
Including Disaster, Tactical, Austere, Wilderness, Sport, and Air-space Medicine.
USPHC (UltraSound for Primary Health Care)
- Ultrasound in General Practice (USGP) and Primary Care.
Including scarce-resource, rural, and remote medicine (PRIMUS, Primary Ultrasound).
ECHO-ICU (Echocardiography for Intensivists)
- Echocardiography in critical and intensive care settings.
Including basic and advanced TTE/TOE haemodinamyc monitoring.
General Goals
- Winfocus Vision & Mission, developed according a “trans-national connect” University perspective.
Specific Goals
- International University Network: Key-player universities involvement in supporting WINFOCUS vision and mission worldwide (endorsements, partnerships, active participation).
- International University Curriculum: Critical Ultrasound incorporation into Pre- and Post-graduate University Curricula (debates, pilot studies within medical students, residents and postgraduate trainees).
- Trans-national Teaching Faculty: Visiting trainers/professors network set up, composed by experts and investigators available to travel worldwide, spreading ultrasound competences throughout critical scenarios, and managing subsequent developments on national and regional Health Care Systems.
- International University Cooperation: Educational and organizational support to scarce-resource institutions, not only in relation to ultrasound-related matters, but to the whole batch of modern competences necessary for an effective and timely management of the critical patients in the critical health care environment.
The learning and certification matrix is developed by two relevant documents recently published by Winfocus, as prototypes of an incoming guideline series, based on International consensus and evidence:
- Neri L, Storti E, Lichtenstein D. Toward an ultrasound curriculum for critical care medicine. Crit Care Med. 2007 May;35(5 Suppl):S290-304.
- Price S, Via G, Sloth E, Guarracino F, Breitkreutz R, Catena E, Talmor D; World Interactive Network Focused On Critical UltraSound ECHO-ICU Group. Echocardiography practice, training and accreditation in the intensive care: document for the World Interactive Network Focused on Critical Ultrasound (WINFOCUS). Cardiovasc Ultrasound. 2008 Oct 6;6:49.
NOTE: Recommendations and guidelines coming from the ILCEUS conferences and studies will provide soon further effective formats for the training modules.
The modules are based on a large number of applications increasingly reported by the International literature.
See bibliography references through the common medical web engines, and particularly the outstanding “Critical Care Medicine Journal” Supplement:
- “Ultrasound in Critical Care”, Crit Care Med. 2007 May;35[Suppl], edited by Michael Blaivas (GA, USA), Andrew Kirkpatrick (Canada) and Alan Sustic (Croatia).