POCUS & Simulation
BMH-GT Internal Medicine Residency Program developed a POCUS (Point of Care Ultrasound) program in 2020, and this program continues to expand with time.
Since the early 19th century, physicians have been using the iconic stethoscope to augment their physical exam. Since that time the practice of medicine has developed and evolved to something our grandparents would not recognize, let alone our great, great grandparents. Unfortunately, our tools and skill at the bedside physical exam have not kept pace. If anything, our predecessors were much more skilled at this with the limited tools available. That is until now. Bring on POCUS, our new bedside diagnostic tool! Going from the stethoscope to the handheld ultrasound is like getting off the horse and buggy, getting in your new flying car- it is a game-changer, and we are all on board!!
Residents have available POCUS equipment using the Butterfly POCUS system and SonoSim training devices and software. We have now integrated POCUS into many of our Morning Report Cases.
During orientation of our PGY 1’s, we hold a half day Boot Camp on POCUS and regular Boot Camp for faculty. We have also developed a POCUS rotation curriculum that may be taken as an elective for senior residents- sort of a POCUS c/s service, if you will. We are currently developing a certification process- so that graduating residents will have the experience and knowledge to take their skills to the next level- practice beyond residency. We incorporated POCUS into our Sim Lab training….. Did we mention our Sim Lab?
BMH-GT Internal Medicine Residency Program is also developing a state-of-the-art Sim Lab. The cornerstone of this lab is the Laerdal SimMan 3G manikin/simulator and the LLEAP software. This amazing piece of equipment comes to life with the ability to do so many various real-world simulations. We also have difficult airway and IV/Central Line simulators. Every other Friday we have a Sim Training Case Scenario – for those residents on clinic rotations- real world meets training head-on in these sessions where we cover everything from complex social issues to sepsis. These scenarios are developed by the rotating POCUS/SIM Rotation Resident and by senior faculty. The day is always concluded by a “critical actions and take-home points” debriefing. They are fun, exciting, and full of educational pearls. With time, our goal is to start mini sim war scenario competitions, with groups of residents developing these cases to challenge each other.
We have even envisioned our own version of Program Sim Wars - a competition between programs. This is our ultimate goal.
