Calgary Program Policy

University of Calgary Internal Medicine Ultrasound Program Policy

1. All trainees must adhere to the program philosophy of using point-of-care ultrasound to assist and augment in physical examination, not replace physical examinations, and not replace necessary formal comprehensive diagnostic imaging studies.

2. All trainees must obtain appropriate patient consent prior to scanning. Patients should be informed that point-of-care studies are limited in scope and are NOT comprehensive diagnostic scans. They are performed for education/guiding procedures/answering focused questions only. Clinically significant findings may be missed and normal findings may be mistaken for abnormal findings.

3. Do NOT image pregnant patients, fetal parts of any gestational age, or any pregnancy that cannot be excluded with reasonable confidence, unless appropriately supervised.

4. Do NOT image the retina, unless appropriately supervised.

5. All trainees must adhere to the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principle.

6. All trainees using the program’s ultrasound machines must first be properly trained on its use. All users must use machines with care. Do not drop the transducers. All damages must be reported immediately to the point-of-care ultrasound faculty.

7. Equipment must be fully cleaned and disinfected between use.

8. All trainees using POCUS must complete the mandatory online module on how to properly disinfect POCUS machines. The link to the module: https://cumming.ucalgary.ca/cme/courses/format/online/POCUS

Disclaimer: The policies contained herein may be changed without notice. Reviewed by: University of Calgary Internal Medicine Point-of-care Ultrasound Program

Version September 17, 2020_2