Message from the Division Chief
Emergency Bedside Ultrasound allows clinicians to rapidly evaluate a patient, answer focused clinical questions, and assist procedural interventions to assist clinical decision making and improve patient safety and satisfaction. The rapid growth of the area of practice has been due to recognition of the benefits of bedside ultrasound by a number of national and international organizations and is reflected by increasing training requirements in a number of medical specialties including emergency medicine, internal medicine, family medicine, critical care, and surgery.
Our ultrasound curriculum will employ the best evidence available to deliver fundamental skills in resuscitative, bedside diagnostic, and procedural ultrasound through a combination of asynchronous didactic modules and knowledge assessments, interactive discussion sessions, live models and simulation, and one-on-one bedside teaching in the Emergency Department. In fact, our faculty are involved in cutting edge systematic reviews to advance the practice of ED US.
All studies will be recorded digitally and reviewed for quality assurance and continuous quality improvement to provide oversight to ensure patient safety and feedback to clinicians who will continue to hone their skills throughout training and practice.
Our goal is to produce clinician leaders in evidence based clinical decision-making using bedside ultrasound to improve the care of patients wherever you may practice.
Zachary Lewis, M.D.
Associate Professor
Chief, Division of EM Ultrasound
Ultrasound Equipment
The emergency department houses state-of-the-art ultrasound machines from multiple different vendors for use in the trauma bays and throughout the department. Each machine is equipped with a full array of probes, including trans-esophageal echocardiography probes and endocavitary probes.
Common Applications of Ultrasound
UAMS emergency medicine residents use ultrasound for a wide variety of situations, from assessing orbital injuries to diagnosing deep vein thrombosis. The most common uses in our emergency department are the Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma (FAST/eFAST), pulmonary evaluations, and the trans-abdominal obstetric exam. Once our PGY-1 residents complete 25 approved eFAST scans, they are responsible for the FAST exam in all Level 1 traumas and gain expertise rapidly. Other frequent uses include assistance with central venous line placement, cardiac and vena cava exam in the hypotensive patient and right upper quadrant exam.
Ultrasound Fellowship
- One-year emergency ultrasound fellowship in the Division of Emergency Ultrasound at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas
- One to two training slots per year
- The UAMS ED has four new GE machines, three Zonare machines, and multiple brands of portable machines.
- QPath image management, EMR integration, and billing
- All UAMS EM faculty trained to meet ACEP requirements
- Integrated first/second year medical school ultrasound curriculum
- Simulation center with Sonosim and Simbionix simulators, 2 ultrasound machines, extensive selection of phantoms
- Partnership with anatomy department for additional simulation and procedural opportunities
- Community and Pediatric affiliated hospitals
- Integration with EM Global Health Track with numerous ultrasound travel opportunities
- Excellent and competitive salary and CME support