Henry Ford Health System
Site Qualification Requirements
1) Is the ultrasound machine used for fellowship training fully owned by the Emergency Department?
Yes
- All nine ultrasound systems are owned by the ED
2) Is the ultrasound machine used for fellowship training available 24 hours/7 days/week?
Yes
- There are additional systems at the Center for Simulation Studies for training medical students and residents have advanced cardiac imaging capabilities.
3) Does the ultrasound machine used for fellowship training have the necessary transducers to perform cardiac, transabdominal, endovaginal and superficial examinations?
Yes
- There are 5 main systems available to the fellow with curvilinear, phased, linear, and endocavitary transducers with complete EM calculation packages, as well as complete cardiac calculation package, and tissue Doppler capabilities and strain. Two systems are capable of using our 2 TEE probes.
4) Is hospital credentialing for emergency ultrasound (EUS) available?
Yes
5) Do formal diagnostic EUS reports appear as a part of the patient medical record?
Yes
- Images are stored via Q-path, which is a wireless archiving system developed for the ED in 2010. Current workflows for billing allows for formal procedure notes in the EMR with transmission of studies to PACS.
6) Does at least one other emergency medicine faculty member (aside from the fellowship director) have hospital credentials for emergency ultrasound at the primary facility for all of the applications listed?
Yes
- There are at least 8 core faculty credentialed currently, with the goal of getting the entire faculty credentialed.
7) Is quality assurance (QA) review documented for all ultrasound examinations performed by the emergency ultrasound fellow(s)?
Yes
- These are done in real-time during scan sessions, and also weekly during the process improvement sessions
8) Does the ED ultrasound director maintain a quality assurance log of all ultrasound examinations performed in the ED?
Yes
- This has been made very easy because of the wireless archiving system established for the ED in 2010
9) Are the types of EUS examinations at minimum consistent with those described in the most recent ACEP ultrasound guidelines?
Yes
- There are many advanced examinations being done, including MSK, and cardiac applications.
10) Is the EUS faculty primarily responsible for EUS fellow education, with education outside the department kept to a minimum and only supplemental to fellow education?
Yes
- The fellow has a 7-10 day rotation at the Vascular Lab, and receives advanced MSK and cardiac training by participating in the WSUSOM and HFHS University sessions. There is additional TEE training through the anesthesia dept.
11) Does the emergency ultrasound fellow work less than or equal to 20 clinical (direct patient care) hours/week?
Yes
- 10-16 maximum
12) Is the EUS fellow a full-time equivalent faculty member at your institution?
Yes
- Serves in the role as Junior Faculty, with the same priviledges as senior staff physicians
13) Is the EUS fellowship a minimum of 12 months?
Yes
- July 1 - June 30
14) Does the EUS fellow perform a minimum of 5 scanning shifts/month, with direct supervision during scanning shifts especially early in the fellowship?
Yes
- The fellow normally has reduced clinical activity 6-8 shifts per month to allow for more dedicated scanning time as well as developing research, admin skills while freeing time for EM board prep.
15) Does a formal fellowship evaluation process exist with at least 3 meetings and an opportunity for the fellow and fellowship director to meet during the fellowship's course?
Yes
- Fellow is provided with an outline of the curriculum for training, and a copy of the evaluation form to review expectations for formative and summative evaluations.
