Critical Care Outreach Ultrasound

Course Description

The Critical Care Outreach Ultrasound Course is specifically designed for healthcare professionals involved in critical care, emergency medicine, and outreach teams who need to rapidly assess and manage critically ill patients. This course teaches the essential point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) skills required for bedside evaluation and decision-making in a variety of acute clinical settings, including rapid assessment of shock, respiratory distress, and fluid status.

Participants will learn how to use POCUS to assess heart function, lung pathology, abdominal emergencies, and vascular access in critically ill patients. The course focuses on real-world applications, ensuring that clinicians are prepared to implement these skills immediately in their outreach practice.

Course Objectives

  • Master Core POCUS Skills: Understand and perform key POCUS techniques, including lung, cardiac, abdominal, and vascular ultrasound, relevant to critical care outreach.
  • Integrate POCUS in Clinical Practice: Teach participants to integrate ultrasound findings into clinical decision-making for conditions such as shock, respiratory failure, and sepsis.
  • Hands-On Scanning: Provide extensive practice on real patients and simulations to ensure participants leave with the confidence to apply POCUS in their daily practice.
  • Early Diagnosis and Treatment: Learn to use ultrasound for early identification of life-threatening conditions such as pneumothorax, pericardial effusion, pleural effusion, and intra-abdominal bleeding.
  • Ultrasound-Guided Interventions: Understand how to use ultrasound to guide procedures such as vascular access, fluid drainage, and chest decompression.

Target Audience

This course is aimed at:

  • Critical care outreach teams
  • ICU clinicians
  • Emergency department staff
  • Anaesthetists
  • Advanced nurse practitioners
  • Healthcare professionals managing deteriorating patients on general wards

Course Format

The Critical Care Outreach Ultrasound Course is delivered as a blended learning programme, combining online theory modules with an intensive one-day, in-person practical workshop.

  1. Pre-Course Online Learning
    Participants will complete online modules that provide a solid foundation in:
    • Physics and principles of ultrasound
    • Core POCUS applications (lung, cardiac, abdominal, and vascular)
    • Clinical indications and appropriate use of POCUS in the critical care outreach setting
    • Review of current guidelines and evidence supporting POCUS use in acute care
  2. In-Person Practical Training Day
    The practical workshop will be a full day of focused, hands-on ultrasound scanning with expert instructors. It includes:
    • Morning Session: Theory Review and Demonstrations
      • Review of core ultrasound techniques and anatomy
      • Live demonstrations on real patients to showcase normal and abnormal findings
      • Introduction to ultrasound machines and probe selection for different clinical applications
    • Afternoon Session: Practical Scanning
      • Lung Ultrasound: Learn to identify pneumothorax, pleural effusion, pulmonary oedema, and consolidation.
      • Cardiac Ultrasound: Assess heart function, detect pericardial effusion, and evaluate left ventricular function in critically ill patients.
      • Abdominal Ultrasound: Identify free fluid, gallbladder pathology, hydronephrosis, and abdominal aortic aneurysms.
      • Vascular Ultrasound: Learn how to perform ultrasound-guided vascular access and assess for deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
      • Real-Time Feedback: Receive individual feedback from expert instructors during live scanning sessions to refine techniques and interpretation skills.
      • Simulated Emergency Scenarios: Work through critical scenarios using ultrasound to manage acute situations, such as shock, respiratory failure, and cardiac arrest.
  3. Post-Course Portfolio Development
    After the course, participants will be encouraged to build a portfolio of ultrasound scans performed during clinical practice. This portfolio will contribute to their competency assessment and support their continued skill development.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

Integrate ultrasound findings into clinical practice, improving the speed and accuracy of diagnoses in outreach care settings.

Perform lung, cardiac, abdominal, and vascular ultrasound exams in critically ill patients.

Recognise and interpret key ultrasound findings relevant to the acute care setting, including pneumothorax, pericardial effusion, and intra-abdominal free fluid.

Use POCUS to aid in the rapid decision-making process for patients with life-threatening conditions.

Safely perform ultrasound-guided vascular access.

Upcoming Critical Care Outreach Ultrasound Courses

Sorry! There are no courses with spaces available that match this description. Please search our calendar for other courses with availability or contact us to let us know that you’re interested in this course.

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