Division of Emergency Ultrasound

The Division of Emergency Ultrasound focuses on the use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to improve patient care in the Prisma Health Emergency Departments and to enhance the education of emergency clinicians in the Greenville community and Upstate Region of South Carolina. Our Division provides didactic-based education, hands-on skills workshops, and Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses for physicians, resident physicians, and medical students.

Residents in the Prisma Health Emergency Medicine Residency experience dedicated ultrasound rotations during each year of their residency training including during their PGY-1 year with an entire block dedicated to intensive education on the use of POCUS to aid in the diagnosis of emergency illnesses and to optimize the care provided to patients in the Greenville Memorial Hospital Emergency Department. During their rotations, and throughout residency training, these physicians acquire the skills necessary to perform image acquisition, image interpretation, and integration of POCUS findings into clinical decision making to help them provide outstanding patient care. During the course of their Emergency Medicine residency training at Prisma Health we provide them with the resources and teaching necessary to acquire a high level of emergency ultrasound competency.

Once the residents have demonstrated competency in both the core applications of the use of POCUS as put forth by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) in the Emergency, Point-of-Care, and Clinical Ultrasound Guidelines and in the Emergency Ultrasound Imaging Compendium they are trained in emerging applications for the use of POCUS to prepare them for the ever-evolving and advancing field of emergency ultrasound. Upon graduation residents will be prepared to utilize emergency ultrasound to optimize their patient care in whatever practice environment they choose to pursue. Residents also have the experience to learn from Advanced Emergency Medicine Ultrasound fellows who are completing fellowship training in the EUFAC accredited AEMUS fellowship the Department of Emergency Medicine offers.

Through our Quality Assurance (QA) process, our Division is excited to provide emergency practitioners with personalized feedback and education regarding their ultrasound studies in the Emergency Department to help further improve their ultrasound skills. We are proud that the Greenville Memorial Hospital Emergency Department and all other Prisma Health – Upstate Emergency Departments have been granted accreditation by ACEP’s Clinical Ultrasound Accreditation Program (CUAP).

Areas of Interest

• POCUS education for emergency practitioners at Prisma Health
• POCUS education for medical students at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
• Collaboration with our colleagues in other specialties that utilize POCUS
• Research on POCUS education and POCUS impacting patient care