Welcome

WELCOME TO ROANOKE!!

Point of Care Ultrasound techniques have been successfully applied to clinical situations in the OR, PACU, and ICUs, allowing anesthesiologists to gain rapid answers to diagnostic dilemmas and for focused treatments to occur.  With this information in mind, an ad hoc committee of VSA leaders and educators formed to develop a POCUS workshop designed to meet the educational needs of anesthesiologists in practice across the Commonwealth.

On behalf of the planning committee, we are proud to welcome you to the VSA’s Inaugural POCUS Workshop at the beautiful and iconic Hotel Roanoke and Convention Center!   Built in 1882, this Tudor-style venue is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and counts among its notable guests: U.S. Presidents, governors, millionaires, and Miss Virginia competitors since 1953! Boasting a 63,000 square-foot high tech conference center, the property is located in the Historic Gainsboro neighborhood immediately adjacent to the Norfolk Southern railroad. The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center’s central location allows for easy access to the Amtrak Roanoke Station, as well as a pedestrian bridge over the railroad to the many restaurants and venues in downtown Roanoke.  

A unique value to VSA members, this inaugural workshop will introduce participants to the hands-on techniques needed to allow them to acquire and interpret bedside POCUS in their practice. Topics such as Focused Cardiac Ultrasound, Lung and Airway Ultrasound, Gastric Ultrasound, and Focused Abdominal Ultrasound will be introduced. Rotating small group instruction will maximize participants hands-on opportunities. On completion, this workshop will also enable the participant to meet the Part 2 (educational) and some Part 4 (case log) requirements for the ASA’s Diagnostic POCUS Certificate Program.  

Overall Meeting Objectives
Following these sessions, the learner will:

1. Assess their awareness of POCUS and its utility in various clinical scenarios and medical decision-making;
2. Demonstrate their knowledge base as it applies to POCUS sono-anatomy in gastric, airway, lung, cardiac, and abdominal sonography;
3. Develop and demonstrate competence in hands-on POCUS image acquisition on a variety of participating human subject models;
4. Identify a mechanism for documenting successful POCUS clinical cases towards the requirements of the ASA Diagnostic POCUS Certificate to improve their practice;
5. Determine the potential billing and reimbursement mechanisms for POCUS.

We have assembled a dynamic team of experienced faculty from all over the Commonwealth to lead the hands-on stations. When coupled with completion of the pre-requisite University of Utah Echocardiography on-line materials, we feel sure that participants will gain useful knowledge and skills to enhance their practice, whether that be in the small community Outpatient Surgery Center, or the tertiary referral Trauma Center.

We thank all the participants and sponsors in advance for their effort and support of this year's inaugural workshop.  It is always our goal to bring state of the art education to the Virginia Anesthesiology community.  Looking forward to a great meeting!

Best,

Mike Saccocci, DO, MPH
VSA POCUS Workshop Program Chair and Course Moderator