Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Tracks

What makes us unique

  • The Penn Ultrasound Fellowship Internal Medicine Track was established in 2016
    • Fellows in the Internal Medicine Track work clinically with the Division of Hospitalist Medicine
    •  Providing care in inpatient units and observation units at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.
  • The Family Medicine Ultrasound Fellowship Track started in 2021
    • Fellows in the Family Medicine Track work clinically in the Penn Family Medicine outpatient clinic
    • Option to spend time covering the Penn Family Medicine inpatient service
  • Over 25 fellows have trained in the IM and FM Ultrasound Fellowship Tracks
  • The fellowship provides formalized ultrasound training for candidates who have completed residency in Internal Medicine or Family Medicine. 
  • Fellows spend 1/2 of their time working clinically, with the other 1/2 of their time engaged in ultrasound education and research. 
  • Fellows graduating from the IM and FM tracks have gone on to pursue academic careers running POCUS programs, as well as continuing to pursue further fellowship training in pulmonology/critical care and geriatrics

The demand for ultrasound education in residency and fellowship training is growing rapidly.  Graduates of the IM and FM tracks are ideally positioned to become leaders in bedside ultrasound education and research.

Fellowship Curriculum

 

  • Weekly ultrasound interdisciplinary video review sessions 

  • Fellows give lectures to medical students, residents, attendings, and fellows from other specialties

  • ED-Based Multidisciplinary Transesophageal Echocardiography Program

  • Extensive opportunities to rotate with point-of-care specialists at Penn, specializing in;

    • Sports medicine

    • Cardiology

    • Radiology

    • Rheumatology

    • Endocrinology

Education

  • Weekly ultrasound conferences with didactics and video review

    • Hands-on scanning and training with ultrasound faculty

    • Sessions with Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Critical Care

    • Weekly lectures given by ultrasound faculty

    • Structured curriculum

    • Learning materials, including articles and book chapters, distributed to fellows weekly

  • One weekly eight-hour scan shift with ultrasound faculty

  • Christy Moore, our dedicated sonographer educator, provides one-on-one training with fellows 

  • ED-Based Multidisciplinary Transesophageal Echocardiography Program

Research

 

  • Faculty have published extensively

  • Fellows are expected to initiate at least one research project from inception, from IRB application and data collection, to abstract and manuscript writing

  • Fellows are expected to present an abstract at a national ultrasound conference

  • Fellows are encouraged to apply for grant funding and have access to Penn faculty resources and experience to assist in their endeavors.

  • Prior research by fellows includes: 

    • US in the examination of the  patient with undifferentiated dyspnea

    • Complications of 1st trimester  pregnancy 

    • Carotid intamedia thickness as a marker for CAD

    • US assessment of soft tissue foreign bodies

    • Ultrasound in triage

    • US in nephrolithiasis (NIH funded)

    • US-guided IV access versus IO access (funded).

  • A statistician is present at weekly research meetings

  • Dedicated Director of Ultrasound Research

  • Dedicated research coordinator to help fellows move projects along