Planning a Successful Ultrafest: A Regional Symposium for Teaching Ultrasound to Medical Students

Problem statement: Point-of-care ultrasound (US) is a rapid, non-invasive tool, which has become essential in many areas of medicine. While some institutions have recognized the importance of ultrasound and have integrated... [ view full abstract ]

Problem statement: Point-of-care ultrasound (US) is a rapid, non-invasive tool, which has become essential in many areas of medicine. While some institutions have recognized the importance of ultrasound and have integrated ultrasound education into the undergraduate curriculum, there are many medical schools that have not. Students may not be aware of this important educational and clinical tool. In order to begin to fill this gap in education and awareness, our institution recently conducted a regional ultrasound education event for medical students from local medical schools.

The concept of "Ultrafest" has been previously described to address this gap in education. However, understanding how to implement one of these programs at an institution without a robust integration of ultrasound and medical education can be difficult. Even with appropriate support and resources, implementing an Ultrafest can be a daunting task. The purpose of this panel is to help interested faculty members learn how to develop and implement an Ultrafest at their institution.

Approach: This panel will have several faculty and students from several different medical schools who have successfully designed and implemented an "Ultrafest" at their respective schools. Each represented institution will have one panel member present a brief presentation on the pearls and pitfalls experienced with developing and implementing Ultrafest. A discussion and question and answer session for the panel will follow.

Potential Panel members:
J. Matthew Fields, MD, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Joshua Davis, M4, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Creagh Boulger, MD The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Vivet Lobo, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine
Chanel Fischetti, MD, PGY2, Duke University School of Medicine
Christian Fox, MD, University of California at Irvine, Irvine School of Medicine

Learning objectives:

1. Understand the potential impact of hosting an UltraFest event
2. To learn the timeline for planning an event
3. To learn the resources required
4. To demonstrate 3 examples of UltraFest in action
5. To understand how to use Social Media to promote Ultrafest
6. To understand how to survey participants and capitalize on the momentum to form Ultrasound Interest Groups