PRESS RELEASE – THE skills and knowledge of emergency physicians responding to traumatic injuries in the emergency and accident in a hospital environment is expected to be enhanced as a team from the Stony Brook University provides bedside ultrasound training.
The team from the Stony Brook University is assisting in the training and support of emergency physicians around the island to strengthen their ability to provide care to pregnant and trauma patients using the service of bedside ultrasound.
Professor at the Stony Brook University William Mallon says this training will provide an exchange of valuable information on bedside ultrasound, which is important in the diagnosis of patients in the accident and emergency department.
He explains, “Bedside ultrasound is sort of different from what you would get from a radiology.
“The areas that we are interested in are real time clinical decision making; if someone having abdominal internal bleeding after a car accident; does someone have a popped lung from a broken rib and so those are the type of things.
“We are doing more than just that but those are the types of ultrasound that we are trying to make sure that we are clear on and to teach here today.”
Coordinator of the bedside ultrasound training Dr. Lisa Charles says training of this nature are very beneficial to staff and patients as it will improve diagnostic accuracy and timeliness.
According to her, “Ultrasound really is an incredible useful bedside test for two sets of patients: our pregnant and trauma patients and if I can talk a little about the trauma patients.
“With limited access to advance radiology testing like CT scanning, when you have a trauma patient present in the ER, this bedside testing can help you figure out whether there is internal bleeding and that can save valuable minutes in terms of getting a patient to operate in theatre if required.
Bedside ultrasound for internal bleeding is now a routine for every patient who visits the Victoria Hospital with a traumatic injury.