Year I

First-year students have ultrasound sessions paired specifically with their associated dissection labs to facilitate their understanding of anatomy.

• Sessions Include:
  
  • Ultrasound Physics and Introduction
  • Musculoskeletal Parts I & II
  • Cardiac Ultrasound
  • Thoracic & Pulmonary Ultrasound
  • Abdominal Ultrasound
  • Head & Neck Ultrasound

Year II

Second-year students have ultrasound sessions paired with pathology case discussions to facilitate their understanding of pathologic processes in specific body systems.

• Sessions Include:
  • Ultrasound Physics and Introduction
  • Cardiovascular Ultrasound
  • Focused Abdominal Sonography in Trauma Ultrasound
  • Abdominal Ultrasound
  • Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
  • Resuscitative Ultrasound

Year III

Third-year students have the opportunity to attend training in ultrasound-guided central venous access.

Year IV

Fourth-year students can participate in clinical ultrasound externships based on their selected specialty choice.

The Rocky Vista Ultrasound Interest Group pairs with the University of Colorado School of Medicine Ultrasound Interest group. The group sponsors multiple fun, interactive educational sessions throughout the course of the year from short hands-on sessions to a full day “Ultrafest.” 

Colorado USIG hosts the State’s First Ultrafest Event

Ultrasound machines are changing the way doctors examine and diagnose their patients. To prepare for this, the University of California-Irvine hosts Ultrafest every year, a day-long event designed to provide hands-on experience with point-of-care ultrasound. Inspired by the event, Lane Thaut, OMS-IV, and Brian Russ, OMS-IV, collaborated with the faculty at University of Colorado School of Medicine, as well as the Colorado Ultrasound Interest Group (USIG), to host the state’s first Ultrafest.

Held on October 3rd, Ultrafest was attended by over 100 medical students and other health professionals. The event began with two keynote speakers: Creagh Boulger, MD, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Ohio State University, and Nikita Joshi, MD, Clinical Instructor of Emergency Medicine at Stanford University. The speakers focused on the benefits of ultrasound, presenting real scenarios and sound advice on how and when to suggest ultrasounds to superiors. Following the keynotes, students visited different workshops, including cardiac, ocular, musculoskeletal, and pulmonary ultrasound.

Each workshop included a great student-to-doctor ratio (often 2:1). The presence of volunteers, mostly pre-med students, allowed attendees to scan instead of having to act as patients themselves, which greatly increased the hands-on learning. Corina Kee, OMS-II, said “They had small groups to teach, practice, and provide one-on-one time with all the students. I am much more comfortable using ultrasound now than I was previous to Ultrafest.” The event also included Echogames, an interactive game that uses an ultrasound to diagnose common ailments. Bobby Nieland, OMS-II, added, “Ultrafest was one of the most fun, interactive, and educational activities I’ve done in medical school to date.”

The Colorado USIG will continue to host ultrasound-related events for members throughout the year and is looking forward to hosting Ultrafest again next year.

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