An update on Sick Kids Hospital, Toronto so far. I am now into my second week here and time seems to be going quickly. Last week involved orientation with the Emergency Department and with the POCUS – Point-of-Care Ultrasound team. I am here to do the 4 week POCUS elective which consists of daily scanning sessions some with the fellows and sometimes with the other elective trainees. There are 3 Ultrasound fellows who are supervising our scanning and then there are 3 doctors (equivalent to consultants) who are accredited in paediatric POCUS and they review our scans and give us direction on how to improve. There are 3 trainees doing the elective which is great as small numbers mean more hands on time with the US machine.
On Wednesday morning there is Ultrasound teaching which is 3 hours of going over 2 clinical papers, discussing that weeks new learning point, reviewing scans carried out the previous week by either the elective trainees or the fellows and reviewing set chapters in a textbook. Each week on the POCUS website there is weekly papers to read and ultrasound videos to watch – last week was soft tissue and this week eFAST. So far I have been scanning, chests, echoes, eFAST, eyes, soft tissue swellings and hips.
From the Emergency Medicine aspect I will be doing some shifts in the ED and my first is on Sunday. The computer system is complicated and makes you miss TRAK! I am meeting up with the head of trauma services to discuss the way trauma is run here in comparison to us. I will also be shadowing the trauma fellow when any traumas come into the department which can be sporadic. I am also taking the opportunity to explore Toronto – trying out different foods, Niagara Falls etc.
