Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship

Established in 2004, the Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship at UMass Chan Medical School is one of the oldest and most established training programs in the country. We offer a one-year EUFAC-accredited fellowship for physicians who are residency-trained in Emergency Medicine. We also offer a one-year fellowship for physicians who are fellowship-trained in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.

Our program focuses on advanced ultrasound skills, medical education, research methodology and administrative skills. Fellows that graduate from our program have the knowledge and skills to join an established academic program or to create a new point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) program in a community or academic hospital. We have more than 20 fellowship alumni who are leaders in academic and community Emergency Medicine and Ultrasound.

The Ultrasound Division at UMass has more than 10 fellowship-trained faculty who participate in fellow training, which is coordinated and led by the fellowship director, Dr. Robert Lindsay. Our Pediatric Emergency Ultrasound training program is a collaborative effort with the Department of Pediatrics and the Director of Pediatric Emergency Ultrasound, Dr. Zachary Binder.

Fellow as trainee

Every week, we have journal club and specialized didactics exclusively for the Ultrasound fellows. These sessions focus on advanced emergency ultrasound. We cover all topics required for EUFAC-accreditation and many more. These include advanced cardiac ultrasound, pulmonary, critical care, musculoskeletal, vascular, OB/GYN, abdominal, procedural ultrasound, pediatrics, and global health. Our fellows graduate as experts in POCUS, including all core and advanced emergency ultrasound applications.

Fellows perform > 1,000 ultrasound studies during their training and at UMass 100% of studies undergo QA image review. Fellows participate in the image review/QA process 2-3 times weekly, including review of their own scans with Division faculty.

Clinical practice typically involves work at a combination of academic and community sites. There is always support as we recognize in addition to ultrasound training, fellows are beginning their careers as independent practitioners and supervisors.

Fellow as educator

Our division is responsible for the POCUS education for all UMass Chan Emergency Medicine Residents and medical education is a major focus of our Division and Fellowship. Each resident rotates with us for 3-4 weeks per year and our fellows provide much of the hands-on and lecture-based education for our residents. In addition, our fellows are encouraged to present advanced topics to the residency during resident conference.

Fellows receive training and feedback regarding lectures and bedside teaching. During the first month of the fellowship, we organize practice lectures and have faculty give direct feedback on lecturing style and slide design to help our fellows grow into outstanding medical educators.

Fellow as investigator

All ultrasound fellows participate in a research project. This may be one of our ongoing projects or a new project created by the fellow. We have access to resources including statisticians, research experts and administrators who can help guide fellows through a research project from the IRB stage to completion.

Some of our ongoing projects include:

LifeFlight Ultrasound Training and Utilization: A joint project with the EMS Division, we are training our LifeFlight nurses and medics to use POCUS and tracking how it changes their practice.

Dengue Fever: A collaboration with the Angkor Hospital for Children in Cambodia exploring the use of POCUS to identify children at higher risk of severe dengue and need for hospitalization.

REASON Trial: As the primary site of the REASON trial led by Dr. Romolo Gaspari we continue to explore the utility of POCUS to help guide resuscitation of patients who have suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

We have many other smaller educational and research projects ongoing at any time. Some of our interests are medical education, international education, pain management and critical care ultrasound. Fellows typically present research at one or more regional and national conferences including SAEM, AIUM, ACEP, and SCUF.

Fellow as administrator

Our fellows participate in the activities and meetings involved with management of a large clinical ultrasound program. At UMass, we provide 100% of clinical and educational POCUS studies across five campuses. Areas of exposure include machine selection and maintenance, ultrasound workflow selection and implementation, reporting and billing, quality control, infection control management, and all aspects of running an academic ultrasound program. Additionally, several alumni who have become POCUS leaders at their community sites serve as valuable resources. Fellows also typically participate in one national (ACEP) and one regional (Yale) ultrasound management course.

Fellow as individual

At UMass we strive to have a fun and supportive environment for our fellows. Fellows have protected time for their learning and are also able to attend regional and national conferences and trainings. We provide a competitive salary and vacation package. If our fellows have special interests or needs, we can adjust their curriculum. Our objective is to provide the best possible training for each of our fellows, but also emphasize their personal objectives and wellness.

How to Apply

Register on https://eusfellowships.com/ and apply to our program. We have a separate listing for our pediatric track. We encourage applicants to apply as early as possible. We require:

• Minimum of 2 letters of recommendation
• Updated CV
• Cover letter

Our program participates in the Emergency Medicine Fellowship Match through NRMP and any applicant will need to register with NRMP. We conduct interviews in September and October. As of 2021, all interviews are virtual as per hospital protocols and national guidelines.

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