PoCUS Under the Spotlight
A series of short interviews with a range of healthcare professionals who use PoCUS as an adjunct to their practice. These inspiring talks will be added on a regular basis and include answers to key questions that every PoCUS user needs to know. Our thanks goes to the specialists who gave up their time to talk to us.
The Podcasts can be found on either Spotify or Vimeo
Episode 1: Dr Lee Pursglove, UK GP practising PoCUS
Dr Lee Pursglove, a GP practising in Bedlington, Northumberland explains the benefits of undertaking POCUS in primary care. He discusses how he first became involved with ultrasound and why he has followed this path despite the need to overcome several obstacles. Lee ends his interview by offering words of wisdom to other GPs who may be thinking of using POCUS as an adjunct to their practice.
Spotify
Vimeo
Dr Thomas Løkkegaard, Danish GP practising PoCUS
Dr Thomas Løkkegaard is a Danish GP practising in Copenhagen. He as been using PoCUS for around six or seven years after first performing ultrasound as a hospital-based physician for cardiac assessment. Currently, he is Vice-President of Danish Society of Ultrasound in General Practice, he teaches other GPs how to use PoCUS in their practice, and also has a research post at the University of Aalborg, Copenhagen. Thomas highlights differences between GPs using PoCUS in the UK and Denmark and he offers top tips on how to keep your colleagues on board if you’re considering introducing ultrasound where you work.
Spotify
Vimeo
Victoria Vatsvag, Sonographer supporting practitioners performing POCUS in remote settings
Norwegian sonographer Victoria Vatsvåg studied for her ultrasound degree in the UK, gained her clinical practice in Ireland, and has been living and working in her hometown of Stavanger, Norway for the past 10 years. In addition to her clinical work as a sonographer she has been teaching ultrasound at both courses and conferences in Norway and abroad. She is also working on her PhD on teleguided ultrasound at the University of Stavanger. Victoria explains the complexities of supporting practitioners performing POCUS scans in remote settings.
Spotify
Vimeo
Siri Aas Smedemark, Danish Geriatrician using PoCUS
Dr Siri Aas Smedemark is a Danish medical doctor specialising in geriatrics, and is based at Odense University Hospital. She has been using POCUS for five years. Currently, she is conducting a PhD project on focused lung ultrasound during in-home assessments among acutely ill older adults. She has trained and certified acute community nurses in performing focused lung ultrasound during in-home assessments. She also teaches other medical doctors in focused lung ultrasound at Odense University Hospital. Siri explains how valuable POCUS is when it comes to triaging her poorly cohort.
Spotify
Vimeo
Dr Sarbjit Clare, MBE, using PoCUS in the Community
Dr Sarbjit Clare, MBE, is Deputy Medical Director and Acute Medical Consultant at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust. She is a renowned pioneer in POCUS, on which she lectures regularly and runs a yearly course. Sarb has also published a text; Ultrasound for the Generalist – A Guide to Point of Care Imaging (2021). She is now taking POCUS into the community with her Hospital at Home award-winning project, EPICENTRE. Sarb explains why POCUS is so essential to her work.
Spotify
Vimeo
Dr Gabin Mbanjumucyo, using PoCUS in Rwanda
Dr Giles Cattermole, an emergency medicine consultant at the Princess Royal University Hospital, Orpington, interviews Dr Gabin Mbanjumucyo, a senior clinical fellow at Kings College Hospital, London. Gabin reveals how, as a newly qualified medic in Rwanda, he used some donated ultrasound machines and immediately realised PoCUS was a game-changer. Gabin explains how it helped him and his patients, and describes the value of PoCUS for assessing everything from trauma to worm infestation. The FASH protocol is also discussed. Listen here to learn more about using PoCUS in a low resource setting.
Spotify
Vimeo
Dr Muhamad Jasim talks of the advantages of PoCUS with his rheumatology patients
Dr Muhamad Jasim is a Rheumatology/Acute Medicine Consultant at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. He talks about how his ability to use PoCUS is a huge advantage in the assessment of many of his rheumatology patients. Muhamad also emphasises the value of a multidisciplinary approach and the importance of image storage for observation of interval changes.
Spotify
Vimeo
Dr Chris Yap talks about problem-solving with PoCUS
Dr Chris Yap is an Emergency Medicine Consultant at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals. He has a diploma in medical ultrasound from the University of Teesside and he is a frequent contributor to the PoCUS teaching network. Chris is also the current point-of-care ultrasound committee Chair of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. He talks about problem-solving with PoCUS and how it can help avoid unnecessary invasive procedures. That said, his wise advice is "Never do PoCUS just for the sake of it."
Spotify
Dr Daniel Nevin explains how PoCUS influences management in many critically injured patients
Dr Daniel Nevin is a Consultant in Anaesthesia and Pre-Hospital Care, and is the Lead for the Trauma Anaesthesia Group at The Royal London Hospital and London’s Air Ambulance. He also developed and leads on point-of-care ultrasound for this service. Daniel discusses how findings from PoCUS influences management in many critically injured patients and also describes the importance of having a robust governance system in place to help maintain standards.