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Point-of-Care Ultrasound

POCUS

2025 Residency Report

Explore the highlights of our residency programs, including clinical achievements, scholarly activity, resident milestones and program growth. The 2025 Residency Report offers a comprehensive look at the successes and progress of our residents and faculty over the past year.

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Nickols

Jordan Nickols, M.D.

Internal Medicine Point-of-care Ultrasound (IMPOCUS) Medical Director

EAMC Internal Medicine Residency Core Faculty

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Welcome, from the Internal Medicine Point-of-care Ultrasound (IMPOCUS) Medical Director

Here at East Alabama Medical Center's Internal Medicine Residency Program, we tout a robust and ever-expanding point-of-care ultrasound curricula. We always seek to create a culture and environment focused on excellence and this includes the area of internal medicine point-of care ultrasound (IMPOCUS).

We understand IMPOCUS is becoming ubiquitous in training among hospitalists and residents practicing Internal Medicine. It is being supported and recommended by organizations such as ACP, AMA, SHM, among others. As such, an IMPOCUS curriculum should be in place to help guide and direct IMPOCUS innovation and training to produce physicians with adequate competency in ultrasound use and to guide both diagnostic reasoning and therapeutic benefit.

Our Mission is to provide foundational POCUS knowledge and the necessary skill set to cultivate in our residents the ability to obtain, interpret, and apply bedside ultrasound images to a variety of clinical situations which will ultimately lead to the best outcomes and care for our patients.

We do this by incorporating several hours of didactics, skills-based sessions, simulations, online education modules, and POCUS rounds into our residency. Our curriculum so allows for you to opt into a second and third tier, known as our “POCUS champions,” to allow those with special interest to expand upon the basics.

Our Vision for the program is to make a robust and innovative hub for POCUS knowledge across the Southeast. I look forward to continuing to build this US program alongside our current students, residents, and faculty.

POCUS Faculty and Staff

Nickols

Jordan Nickols, M.D.

EAMC Internal Medicine Residency Program Core Faculty

IMPOCUS Medical Director

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Rochelle Kolawole, M.D.

Rochelle Thompson Kolawole, M.D.

IMPOCUS Faculty

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Douthit

Nathan Douthit, M.D.

EAMC Internal Medicine Residency Program Core Faculty

IM Residency Director

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Aaron Schaffner, M.D.

IMPOCUS Faculty

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Arsh Patel, D.O.

Arsh Patel, D.O.

IMPOCUS Program Champion

Stewart Malave, M.D.

Stewart Malave, M.D.

IMPOCUS Program Champion

POCUS Resident Curriculum

Tier One

All residents are exposed to a basic didactic and skills-based curriculum. This covers POCUS indications, procedural POCUS, and the basics of image acquisition and interpretation. As POCUS is further incorporated into the standards of care, we believe all residents should have a basic understanding of this technology. After completion of the basic curriculum over your first year of residency, you will be able to obtain and interpret the following organ systems: Focus cardiac, pulmonary, focused abdomen, renal, bladder, and vasculature.

Tier Two

You could enroll in at the beginning of your second year, you will receive more individualized instruction and be expected to complete an image portfolio to develop “limited proficiency” in image acquisition and interpretation of a variety of scans.

This portfolio includes imaging of the organ systems discussed above. These images will be reviewed by faulty members and feedback will be given. Tier 2 individuals will also have additional educational opportunities for US practice. A final skills-based assessment of you knowledge will be conducted at the end of each curricular period with an associated required passing score. 

Tier Three

POCUS “champions” will be selected from our PGY-2 and PGY-3 classes. 2 from each class will participant. They will be expected complete similar requirements as the above tier 2 individuals, in addition to contributing to POCUS teaching at our skills-based sessions and orientation. A POCUS research OR QI project will be required of them. These individuals will also be responsible for updating POCUS Pocket guide annually.

Curriculum Guide and Training Sessions

Skills Session/Topic: 

  • Procedural/ CVL training and intro to Pocus
  • Tiers 2/3 Special session and review

Tier One:

Tier Two:

Tier Three

  • Physics of Ultrasound
    Point-of-Care Ultrasound - Soni, Arntfield, Kory
    Section 1

Extra

Skills Session/Topic:

  • RUQ
  • LUQ
  • Epigastric
  • Suprapubic

Tier One:

Tier Two:

Tier Three:

  • Abdominal imaging:
    Point-of-Care Ultrasound - Soni, Arntfield, Kory
    Section 4 - Ch. 24 -  27, 32

Skills Session/Topic:

  • Cardiac/Aorta/IVC

Tier One:

Tier Two:

Tier Three:

  • Cardiac POCUS beyond the basics
  • Point-of-Care Ultrasound - Soni, Arntfield, Kory
    Section 3 - Ch 13 - 19, 22
    Section 4 - Ch. 28

Skills Session/Topic:

  • ACLS

Tier One:

  • None

Tier Two:

Tier Three:

  • Point-of-Care Ultrasound - Soni, Arntfield, Kory
    Chapter 23

Extra:

Skills Session/Topic:

  • Vascular/DVT/Thoracic

Tier One:

Tier Two:

Tier Three:

  • Point-of-Care Ultrasound - Soni, Arntfield, Kory
    Section 2
    Section 6 - Ch. 34

Extra:

Skills Session/Topic:

  • OB/Gyn for Tiers 2 & 3

Tier One:

  • None

Tier Two:

Tier Three:

  • Point-of-Care Ultrasound - Soni, Arntfield, Kory
    Section 4 - Ch. 29 - 30

Skills Session/Topic:

  • Procedures

Tier One:

Skills Session/Topic:

  • Airway Course

Tier One:

Tier Two:

  • None

Tier Three:

  • None

Skills Session:

  • MSK

Tier One:

Tier Two:

Tier Three:

  • Point-of-Care Ultrasound - Soni, Arntfield, Kory
    Section 8

Skills Session/Topic:

  • PEARLS Review

Skills Session/Topic:

  • Final Practicum/OSCE

Tier One:

  • None

Tier Two:

  • None

Tier Three:

  • None

Skills Session/Topic

  • None

Tier One:

  • None

Tier Two:

  • None

Tier Three:

  • None

Once curriculum is completed, a final assessment on your knowledge, image acquisition, and interpretation can be performed. This is only required for tier two and three individuals currently. Additionally, as you complete your portfolio, image review with our faculty will be a continual process to improve image quality and accuracy.

Undergraduate Medical Education Schedule

Procedural Ultrasound 

Each week (subject to change):

  • Echo rounds: Tuesday morning
  • US rounds with techs: Wednesday morning
  • QA: Once weekly, can be over Zoom if needed
  • Augusta University Fellowship Lecture: Wednesday

Scholarly Activities

Clay, H, DO; Santiago-Colberg, W, DO; Khan, S; Nickols, J, MD; Douthit, N, MD. Making Waves at a Community-based Program with a POCUS FOCUS Poster
Jacob McLean; Ana Jones; Emily McGaughy; Jordan Nickols, MD; Johnny Stackhouse DO; Nathan Douthit, MD (2024, April 11-13). Integrating Portable Ultrasound Probes into International Outreach Trips at an Osteopathic Medical School [Podium presentation]. Medical Association of the State of Alabama 2024 Annual Meeting and Business Session. Montgomery, AL, United States. Hyperlink. Oral presentation
Nickols, J; Douthit, N; Rose, C; Schulze, K. Creation of Innovative Advanced Gel Models for POCUS Training Ongoing research
Douthit, N; Nickols, J. Point-of-care Ultrasound Guidelines to aid in Internal Medicine Curriculum development: A Narrative Review Pending submission
McLean, J; Hitchcock, E; Mattar, A; Patel, N; Ledbetter, D; Redden, D, PhD; Nickols, J, MD; Douthit, N, MD. Point-of-Care Ultrasound and Patient Satisfaction. Ongoing research
Clay, H, DO; Santiago-Colberg, W, DO; Khan, S; Nickols, J, MD; Douthit, N, MD. Making Waves at a Community-based Program with a POCUS FOCUS Pending submission

For Our Residents