A Primary Care Ultrasound Fellowship: Training for Clinical Practice and Future Educators

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Point-of-Care Ultrasonography

Background:

• Ultrasound devices are becoming smaller, more portable, and user-friendly, leading to widespread adoption across medical specialties.
• Structured educational opportunities for point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) are limited, particularly outside emergency and critical care medicine.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the history of point-of-care ultrasonography fellowships.
• To provide an overview of the first primary care ultrasound fellowship established at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.

Main Methods:

• Historical review of POCUS fellowship development.
• Descriptive overview of the curriculum and structure of a primary care ultrasound fellowship program.

Main Results:

• The University of South Carolina School of Medicine established the first yearlong POCUS fellowship in 2011 for primary care physicians.
• The fellowship targets graduates of internal medicine, medicine-pediatrics, pediatrics, and family medicine residencies.

Conclusions:

• The development of POCUS fellowships addresses the growing demand for ultrasound education in primary care.
• This initiative represents a significant step in integrating POCUS training into non-specialty residency programs.