Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certificate of Completion

This program offers comprehensive, hands-on experience in point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). Take individual courses or earn a Certificate of Completion in POCUS, brought to you by CHEST and the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM).

Do you have questions? Contact POCUS@hospitalmedicine.org.

Target audience

The Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certificate of Completion is designed for all health care providers interested in improving their bedside ultrasound skills. The program is geared primarily toward providers who care for acutely ill patients.

• Hospitalists
  • Internal medicine
  • Family medicine
• Advanced practice providers
  • Nurse practitioners
  • Physician assistants

While this program has also been instrumental for clinicians seeking credentialing at their local institution, there is no guarantee. Each institution has their own requirements.

Program requirements

These requirements must be completed within 3 years of starting the program and are listed in recommended order of completion. Portfolio images must be generated and collected personally after attending one of the required live courses.

Please contact POCUS@hospitalmedicine.org if you have questions or concerns about completing the requirements within the 3-year timeframe due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other causes.

Phase I

1. Complete online learning modules

Supplement, strengthen, and refine your ultrasound coursework. Designed by frontline intensivist experts in ultrasonography, these interactive, multimedia e-learning tutorials review essential components of point-of-care ultrasound.

PURCHASE THE MODULES »
SHM Member Benefit: SHM members receive special pricing on these modules. Contact POCUS@hospitalmedicine.org for your unique discount code.

When you are ready to begin the modules, please reach out to learn@elevatehealth.net. Your 12-month subscription will begin once you sign in to their system and begin the modules, not from the date of purchase. While you will purchase the modules through the CHEST website, you will access the modules on Elevate Healthcare’s website. For questions about module access, please contact learn@elevatehealth.net.

Alternatively, learners may satisfy this requirement by completing the SHM Principles Of Point-Of-Care Ultrasound online learning modules.

Purchase and access the modules in the SHM Learning Portal. Members can purchase the series at a discounted rate.

2. Attend Ultrasonography: Essentials in Critical Care

In this in-person course, you’ll review key elements of point-of-care ultrasonography and practice lung, pleural, vascular, and abdominal image acquisition on human models, with a special half-day track designed specifically for hospitalists.

Learn techniques for interpreting cases, approaches to identifying appropriate use of ultrasonography for acutely ill hospitalized patients, and more. This course is offered three times per year at the CHEST Innovation, Simulation, and Training Center in Glenview, Illinois.

VIEW ULTRASONOGRAPHY ESSENTIALS COURSE DATES »
SHM Member Benefit: SHM members receive special pricing on this course. Contact POCUS@hospitalmedicine.org for your unique discount code.

3. Enhance your practice by attending an approved regional course

1. 18th Point-of-Care Ultrasound Workshops – Next course in January/February 2025. The UT Health San Antonio Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) CME Workshops will include the Adult Basics course, as well as separate Faculty Development, Advanced Cardiac, and Pediatric courses. Please contact krellenstein@uthscsa.edu for more details.
2. SHM Minnesota Chapter Point-of-Care Ultrasound Course – Bloomington, MN. Register for the October 12-13, 2024, course.
3. UCSF POCUS for the Hospitalist CME Course – San Francisco, CA (November 2024). Please contact Trevor.Jensen@ucsf.edu and Dawn.Bohlmann@ucsf.edu for more details.
4. MedStar Health SiTEL Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) 4-Day Course – Washington, DC. Register for the October 17-20, 2024 course.
5. Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Course – Atlanta, GA. Register for the October 17-18, 2024 course.

Phase II

Complete the online portfolio

A key element to training in point-of-care ultrasonography is bedside scanning practice. To foster self-directed learning, you will be required to assemble a portfolio of specific images to be reviewed and approved online by a faculty member. Expect a productive educational experience that will foster ongoing scanning practice and yield high-quality image acquisition.

You will need to have access to an ultrasound machine with image storage capability. Images should be recorded and exported directly from an ultrasound machine to the online portfolio.

The emphasis for portfolio development will be on image quality. While specific examples of disease are not required, with the exception of lung and pleural images, abnormal images are welcome. You may submit all normal images. If you will be teaching point-of-care ultrasound to other providers, consider developing your own teaching file, and this portfolio can start that process.

This activity has been approved for CME and MOC points.

PURCHASE PORTFOLIO ACCESS THROUGH SHM »

Access to the portfolio will only be granted after completing a live course.

Phase III

Pass comprehensive skills and knowledge assessments

All previous requirements (courses, online modules, and image portfolio) must be completed prior to taking the final written and hands-on exam. Opportunities to complete the final assessments are offered at SHM Converge and approved POCUS courses listed on this page. Final assessments are also offered virtually if needed. CME credit is not offered for the final assessments.

For those who want to take the final skills assessment in-person at a regional, SHM, or CHEST course, confirmation has to be obtained ahead of time from SHM and the course director. This ensures the coordination and logistics of your exam are finalized before the course begins. Please contact POCUS@hospitalmedicine.org as soon as you are eligible to schedule your final assessments and at least 4 weeks before your preferred testing date to ensure your exam can be scheduled.

There is a fee to take the assessments. This fee allows for two attempts at the written knowledge assessment and one attempt at the hands-on skills assessment. If additional attempts are needed, an additional fee of $300 will apply. Please contact POCUS@hospitalmedicine.org for more information.

Image portfolio requirements