Learn Online: Imaging of the emergency patient using point of care ultrasound

Learn Online: Imaging of the emergency patient using point of care ultrasound

Start Date: Friday 3rd June 2022
Tutor: Soren Boysen

Fees: BSAVA Member £130; Non Member £195

Successfully applying point of care ultrasound (POCUS) is not about memorizing protocols, but rather understanding key principles and fundamentals that allow interpretation and integration of observed sonographic findings in light of the entire clinical picture. Know what you are looking for, how to identify it, and how situational events impact results before you place the probe on the patient.

Online activities (including quizzes and case studies) will support your learning and discussions on the online forum will be encouraged. We also provide additional resources to complement the course - the ‘BSAVA Bonus Bits’. These will include congress podcast recordings, JSAP and companion articles as well as a free chapter from the relevant BSAVA Manual (as well as a discount voucher for purchasing the whole book).

The first weekly unit will be released on the First Friday of the month, with the next weekly units being released on the following two Fridays. The discussion forum is open for the first four weeks of the course and the course content will remain available for a total of 12 weeks. You can complete the work how and when you choose over these 12 weeks


Weekly units

Week 1: Introduction to small animal point of care ultrasound in the emergency critical care setting

Week 2: Clinically driven applications of the 5 point 5 minutes abdominal point of care ultrasound (APOCUS) exam in small animals

Week 3: Pleural space and lung ultrasound

Learning Objectives

• Understand the key ultrasound functions used to perform POCUS
• Describe the origins of abdominal and thoracic FAST exams for detection of free fluid and evolution of currently applied POCUS techniques
• Discuss pitfalls that may result in false negative or false positive APOCUS results
• Describe the techniques used to sonographically identify post-operative ileus
• Describe how each PLUS sonographic window is assessed using binary questions, and then compiled to create the entire PLUS profile the patient in light of other POCUS findings and the entire clinical picture
• Explain the limitations of PLUS

Soren Boysen

Dr. Søren Boysen obtained his DVM from the University of Saskatchewan, completed a small animal internship at the Atlantic Veterinary College, and a residency at Tufts University, becoming a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care in 2003. He is the former Chief of Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care at the University of Montreal and currently a Full Professor at the University of Calgary. Extensively published (more than 80 papers/chapters), and a recipient of numerous teaching, speaker, and research excellence awards, he has become an internationally recognized educator, having lectured in more than 20 countries. With the help of many great colleagues from Tufts and around the world, he developed the first veterinary FAST exam, adapted point of care ultrasound (POCUS) to the non-trauma setting, and created novel educational approaches to the understanding pleura and lung ultrasound. He continues to pioneer innovative POCUS training techniques and workshops for non-specialist practitioners. Along with point of care ultrasound, his research interests include hemorrhage, coagulation, and perfusion.