London 

Musculoskeletal Ultrasound  Programme

Course Profile

 
1 year block,

Minimum of 10 monthly evening sessions

First Tuesday of the Month, 6pm – 8.30pm

Commences 1^st July 2008

Faculty

Mr Robert Laus  MCSP- Leading physiotherapist and pioneer of ultrasound imaging in physiotherapy

Mr John Leddy MCSP – Dual qualified sonographer and physiotherapist, honorary research fellow at Kings College Primary Care Unit, Chairman of Dynamic Ultrasound Group.

Dr Duncan Robinson - military GP and specialist in sports medicine.

Goal

The goal of the programme is to provide ongoing training to clinicians working within musculoskeletal (MSK) medicine field, who are using ultrasound imaging in their practice.

It does not in itself lead to a specific qualification, but is intended to assist those seeking to develop competency in MSK ultrasound, who do no have the benefit of direct supervision and those who may wish to progress along the pathway set out in The Royal College of Radiology Guidelines (2005).

Outcomes

Expected outcomes for the course include

 
A minimum of 200 logged scans (participants are expected to be able to log an average of at least 5 scans per week)
A demonstrable grasp of the basic principles and instrumentation pertinent to their field of practice.
Good basic probe manipulation skills.
To be able to manipulate the basic standard parameter to optimise image quality.
Good understanding of the principles of ultrasound examination.
Knowledge of the appropriate examination process in your field of interest.
To be able to accurately identify and scan in multiple planes, the commonly assessed structures in your field of interest.
To have a good understanding of the limitations inherent to ultrasound, and particular to your level of skill and experience.
To be able to discuss and debate the appropriateness of ultrasound in your practice.

Though the theoretical and practical issues surounding the identification of pathology will be an integral part of the course, knowledge and understanding of this requires practice and personal study. The programme is intended to assist students in acquiring the skills necessary to acheive competence in MSK ultrasound, but actual competence in diagnostic scanning can only be adequately assessed through mentored and supervised clinical scanning, which is beyond the scope of this course.

Cost

£550 per student

£450 per student from participating departments

Participating departments are departments/clinics that have agreed to host and/or provide equipment for the programme.

Venue

The programme will be run through the ‘Central London’ hospitals. The venue for the course will vary during the year, to reduce the load on one department, with the first evening is scheduled for St Leonards Hospital Physiotherapy Department.

Programme

Sessions will consist of:

 Supervised scanning practical  and problem solving – The programme is based around scanning practical sessions, where students working with the faculty members and each other work on their technique and problem solving. These sessions will be tailored to the needs of the students.

Interspersed through the evening practical will be the following.

 Short teaching session on the physics – A step by step approach to teaching the essential principles of ultrasound

 Technical workshop – focuses on basic and advanced scanning skills and manipulation of the ultrasound image.

Specific joint review – review of techniques and application of ultrasound to specific regions.

Logbook tutorial – discussion of cases scanned in the intervening month.

Programme requirements

 Students

 Must be clinicians and members of a recognised UK professional medical body (eg CSP, GMC etc)

should have attended an introduction to MSK ultrasound or have previous experience scanning.

 Must have regular access to an ultrasound scanner and expect to scan at least 5 cases per week.

 Must be willing to log the scans they carry out and perform adequate follow up when feasible.

 Should expect to be able to attend all ten of the planned sessions.

 Participants should be willing to act as subjects during the practical sessions and should wear or bring appropriate garments (eg shorts)

 Case presentations throughout the course will be brief and informal, though some slide preparation may be necessary to streamline review of images.

 Application

To Apply you need to contact John Leddy by emailing physio_imaging@yahoo.com

Notes

recording