About Us
We predict that the power of ultrasound, as a learning and patient safety tool as well as a diagnostic instrument, will drive it to become a vital component of undergraduate and graduate medical education.
We also believe there will be a strong demand for use of ultrasonography by practicing clinicians throughout the state and across the nation. A critical step in general provider use, however, will be the availability of quality training programs.
With the above perspectives in mind, the USC School of Medicine has developed an extensive ultrasound training program to train our medical students, physician assistant students, medical residents and practicing physicians in primary care from around the state, the Southeast and globally.
Program activities involving ultrasound currently underway at the USC School of Medicine:
- Four-year curriculum in clinical ultrasound for medical students
- Ultrasound training integrated into primary care residency curricula
- On-site ultrasound training for South Carolina rural primary care physicians
- CME-accredited ultrasound training program for physicians
- Ultrasound training materials
- Research programs involving:
- studies to demonstrate improved learning and retention of material with use of ultrasound.
- innovation and outcomes research.
- test site for new ultrasound technology.
- Academic host for Society for Ultrasound Medical Education (SUSME), First World Congress of Ultrasound Medical Education, First Conference on Ultrasound in Anatomy & Physiology Education and other activities that promote ultrasound medical education
Funding for the USI comes from grants, gifts and endowments, as well as university support.
Southern Medical Journal Issue Focuses on POCUS
The Southern Medical Journal published a special issue on point-of-care ultrasound as an "introduction for the readers to the expanding utilization of this technology in the clinical setting." A number of USC's School of Medicine Faculty contributed to the issue.
Ultrasound Institute Faculty Publication Highlighted on Cover of Advances in Physiology Education Journal
The journal article, “Using ultrasound to teach medical students cardiac physiology,” authored by Dr. Floyd “Tripp” Bell, Department of Radiology, Dr. Britt Wilson, Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neuroscience, and Dr. Richard Hoppmann, Ultrasound Institute, and published in the December 2015 issue of Advances in Physiology Education, is featured on the cover of the journal.
School of Medicine Ultrasound Institute's Nine-Year Ultrasound Paper Published
The School of Medicine Ultrasound Institute's nine-year ultrasound curriculum paper has been published and is available as an open access article for all to read in Critical Ultrasound Journal.
- Ultrathon - January 11, 2020 - UofSC SOM Ultrasound Institute, Columbia, SC.
- Introduction to Point of Care Ultrasound CME - Multiple times per year - UofSC SOM Ultrasound Institute, Columbia, SC.
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The Second World Congress on Ultrasound in Medical Education - was held September 27-29, 2013, in Columbia, SC.
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The First Conference on Ultrasound in Anatomy and Physiology Education - was held March 22-23, 2013 in Columbia, SC.
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The First World Congress on Ultrasound in Medical Education - was held April 29 – May 1, 2011, in Columbia, SC.
“The Use of Hand-Held Ultrasound Units to Enhance Medical Student Primary Care Clinical Training” – Fullerton Foundation $208,945
Thirty pocket-size, hand-held ultrasound units (GE Healthcare Vscan) were purchased for integration into the third year family medicine, pediatrics and internal medicine clerkship training programs. Students are encouraged to use the Vscan to image as many patients as possible during both their inpatient and outpatient experiences. Implementation of this program has enabled the UofSC School of Medicine to more fully prepare its graduates in the use of ultrasound in clinical practice and thus enhance the future effectiveness of the primary care workforce.
“Development of an Ultrasound Screening Program for Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm in Men over 65 who have ever Smoked” – Fullerton Foundation: $82,450
The U.S. Preventive Service Task Force (USPSTF) issued recommendations in early 2005 that were adopted by the Veterans Health Administration, that men 65 to 75 years of age who have ever smoked be offered a screening for Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm (AAA) by ultrasonography. A ruptured AAA is the 10th most common cause of death for men 55 years and older. There are nearly 14,000 male veteran patients in the Dorn VA Medical Center (VAMC) and its community outpatient centers who meet this criteria. To supplement the existing capacity of the Dorn VAMC Radiology Service, two laptop ultrasound units were purchased and a pool of practitioners from the Primary Care and Medical Services were trained to screen patients for AAA with ultrasound as part of a usual office visit.
“Ultrasonography Training and Patient Safety” - The Fullerton Foundation: $228,000
The grant award was used to up-fit the Ultrasound Institute, particularly the classroom and hands-on laboratory with furniture, stretchers, and practice models/phantoms as well as audio-video equipment necessary to carry out the training programs.
The University of South Carolina School of Medicine initiated an integrated ultrasound curriculum for medical students in 2006 and an ultrasound training program for rural South Carolina primary care physicians in 2008. In September of 2011, the School of Medicine formed an ultrasound training partnership with physicians, medical students, and other healthcare providers at the Arusha Lutheran Medical Center in Arusha, Tanzania. The partnership has consisted of on-site training, access to ultrasound learning modules, and review of images from Arusha by our ultrasound faculty.
6311 Garners Ferry Rd
Columbia, SC 29209
Building 28, 2nd Floor
Get directions via Google Maps.