Advanced Clinical Ultrasound Fellowship
Message from the Program Director
Welcome to the Nuvance Health Advanced Clinical Ultrasound Fellowship at Vassar Brothers Medical Center. We are a one-year program designed to develop expertise in advanced clinical ultrasound applications, administration, education, and research. Vassar Brothers Medical Center (VBMC) is a 350-bed facility that has served New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley since 1887. We are a community-based tertiary care hospital in Poughkeepsie, NY with approximately 76,000 visits annually, and high levels of acuity. The Emergency Department is an American College of Surgeons verified Level II trauma center, STEMI center, and designated New York state stroke center. Unlike NY city programs, we have a wide catchment area that includes both urban and rural regions. US Fellows will have the unique opportunity to teach a wide array of learners from medical students and physician assistant students, to Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Family Practice, Transitional Year, and Anesthesia residents. Although we are a new program, our Ultrasound Division works across all subspecialities to maximize our fellows’ educational experience. The goal of our program is to produce leaders in the field of advanced clinic ultrasound who can ultimately develop and/or maintain an ultrasound division within any department or a hospital wide.
Why Poughkeepsie?
Poughkeepsie is unique from the NYC programs. Our campus is surrounded by gorgeous views of the Hudson River, state parks, and fall foliage. With easy access to everything from the famed hiking trails to a short car or train ride to NYC, we are an ideal spot for both urban and outdoors recreation. Dutchess County has exceptional hiking trails, bike trails, golf courses, vineyards, state parks, pick your own farms, craft breweries, historic homes, excellent school districts, reasonable cost of living, family friendly, and a short drive to some of the best ski resorts in the region.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Midgley, MD FPD-AEMUS, FACEP, DipABLM
Fellowship Director, Advanced Clinical US
Program Information
NRMP program code: 2183E01F0
Fellows will learn advanced clinical ultrasound skills, as well as, hone their educational style by teaching to a multitude of different residencies and student learners. You will also learn administrative skills needed to run an Ultrasound Division including drafting protocols/guidelines, performing image Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement, and much more. In addition to these program components, our fellows are required to complete a research project and will be guided through the process by VBMC’s research division.
Our fellows will have the unique experience of 1 full month of 1:1 bedside US teaching without any additional learners by our US faculty. This will be followed by 4 weeks of shadowing US teaching sessions prior to running any US teaching sessions. Once a week there will be image review, and a monthly fellows’ education half-day dedicated to journal club, case conference, and lecture on advanced US topics. There are opportunities to learn Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE) on a simulator, followed by TEE exposure through the Department of Anesthesia. Additional regional anesthesia opportunities are available through the Department of Anesthesia.
Academic Offerings
Our Fellows’ Academic Half-Day will occur once a month. This conference will involve the presentation of a patient case followed by point of care US images and their clinical interpretation that aided in the diagnosis and management of the case. Fellows will then present a journal article pertinent to the case discussed. Lecture reviewing the advanced US topic will then follow the case presentation and journal club. Following the clinical case presentation, will be image review.
Simulation days will occur bimonthly. These will include TEE simulation as well as US scanning practice on standardize patients for advanced US applications.
The Core Curriculum Conference Series will include weekly 1:1 US scanning sessions with faculty, image review of the fellows’ clinically performed USs, and mini-lectures with a concentration on the various advanced clinical US applications.
Ultrasound Teaching Sessions will be fellow run once a week after completion of the first two months of the fellowship. These teaching sessions include scanning time with the various residents and students rotating through the Point of Care Ultrasound Elective, followed by a lecture on one of the core clinical ultrasound applications, and review of the rotators independently performed US images.
Ultrasound Faculty Teaching Conferences: Fellows will also be involved in planning, executing, and teaching at the yearly US Faculty Conferences for Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Critical Care physicians.
Journal Club
Resident level Journal Club occurs weekly during Ultrasound conference days, fellow level journal club will occur monthly. Fellows will choose an article relevant to the month’s clinical case presentation and present the article after of their clinical case presentation. The fellow will guide discussions regarding the merit of the research as well as potential changes to patient care techniques/strategies.
Research and Quality Improvement Opportunities
Research Conference will occur on a quarterly basis for updates and assessments for the status of research project. All fellows must perform a research project during their fellowship year with completion including abstract and paper submission. They will receive guidance via faculty mentors and the research division with whom they will meet monthly after the fellows academic half-day.
How to Apply
The Nuvance Health Advanced Clinical Ultrasound Fellowship at Vassar Brothers Medical Center thanks you for your interest in applying to our program. We accept all applications through EUSFellowships.com only and participate annually in the NRMP Match Program (NRMP program code: 2183E01F0) . We hope you choose to join us.
Requirements: The following items are required for consideration of interview. All items must be received through ERAS application portal:
Personal Statement
Current CV
3 Letters of Recommendation (must have one from program director and one from the US director)
USMLE Step 2 CS or COMLEX Level 2 PE Score (we understand that due to COVID-19 and USMLE changes some people may not have been able to take CS or PE)
USMLE Step 2 CK or COMLEX Level 2 CE Score
USMLE Step 3 Score
Letter of good standing from current Program Director and/or Medical Director
Letter from current US Division attesting to completion of an Ultrasound rotation, number of completed US examinations, and/or completion of ACGME Point of Care US requirements for residency graduation
Timeline: We will interview candidates during select dates in September and October. Exact dates will be provided to the invited fellowship applicants via email notification.
After reviewing applications in EUSFellowships.com, we will send out invites via Thalamsu with available dates for interviewing. All interviews will be done virtually for the 2022 interview season.