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CanPoCUS

Quality Point of Care Ultrasound Training

CanPoCUS PEM-PoCUS



PEM-PoCUS - Next Course

CanPoCUS PEM Course

In conjunction with the Dalhousie Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the IWK Health Centre the CanPoCUS PEM course provides an introduction to the core applications for PEM PoCUS. It has been designed for pediatric emergency physicians and other acute care physicians working in departments that care for children. This course provides the core knowledge and hands-on training required to expand the use of point of care ultrasound in your practice.

Applications covered include: Physics, Instrumentation, Trauma (eFAST), Vascular Access, IVC/Shock, Cardiac (Echo in Life Support – ELS), Lung, Appendicitis, Intussusception, Testicular torsion, Gallbladder and MSK (soft tissues, joint effusions, fractures)

Using a combination of pre-reading, interactive lectures, and hands-on workstations, this course will teach the basics of Pediatric Point of Care Ultrasound, and give you the confidence to increase your use of this important adjunct to patient care.

 

 

 


 

This course includes hands-on practice with high fidelity PoCUS pathology simulation with our own CAE Vimedix Simulator (CAE Vimedix Simulator) Scan cases with simulated pathology, including – pericardial effusion, pleural effusion, cardiomyopathy, hemoperitoneum, etc.

 

 

 

CanPoCUS Textbook

Point of Care Ultrasound for Emergency Medicine and Resuscitation

Edited and authored by CanPoCUS Faculty

Point of Care Ultrasound for Emergency Medicine and Resuscitation is the definitive guide to using this indispensable clinical tool quickly, safely, and accurately to diagnose patients in emergency, acute, and critical care settings.

With a practical focus on how to perform ultrasound and interpret images, this book demonstrates how the reader can use ultrasound safely in patient management to diagnose and manage shock, acute presentations, or the acute phases of key conditions. Extensively illustrated 312 pages, this resource also comes with online access to 160 ultrasound clips and over 130 annotated ultrasound images.

This book is included with CanPoCUS Core, PEM, Roadshow and Fest applications

PEM-PoCUS Program

DAY 1

0800-0815Coffee and Registration
0815-0830Introduction & Pediatric Introduction
 Abdomen Workshop
0830-0845FAST review + renal
0845-0900Appendicitis + intussusception
0900-0915Gallbladder
0915-0930Testicular Torsion
 Practical 1
0930- 1125Hands on scanning for abdominal applications
 Resuscitation Workshop
1130- 1150Cardiac assessment
1150-1210Lung assessment
1210-1230Approach to shock
 LUNCH
 Practical 2
1330-1525Hands on scanning for resuscitation applications
 Vascular Assess Workshop
1530-1550Peripheral/Central IVs + FB identification
 Practical 3
1555-1645Line placement and FB identification with phantoms/models

DAY 2

0830-0845Coffee and Registration
 Musculoskeletal Workshop
0845-0900Pediatric hip
0900-0915Soft tissue
0915-0930Fractures + reduction
0930-0945Elbow
 Practical 4
0950- 1200Hands on scanning for MSK applications
 LUNCH
1300-1600Practical scanning of all applications

Practical Workshops: DAY 1 & 2

Practical 1 – Abdomen

2 hours – 4 x 30mins per rotation

  1. FAST exam + renal
  2. Appendicitis/Intussusception
  3. Testicular torsion
  4. Gallbladder

Practical 2 – Resuscitation

2 hours – 4 x 30mins per rotation

  1. Cardiac/IVC views – subxiphoid and IVC
  2. Parasternal cardiac views – PSS and PSL
  3. Lung – anterior chest and RUQ/LUQ
  4. Parasternal cardiac views – Apical

Practical 3 – Vascular assess

50 minutes – 4 x 12mins per rotation

  1. Phantom peripheral IVs
  2. Central line mannequin
  3. Phantom peripheral IVs
  4. FB identification

Practical 4 – Musculoskeletal

2 hours – 4 x 30mins per rotation

  1. Pediatric hip
  2. Fractures – normal bone (tibia/fibula + radius/ulnar) vs fracture
  3. Soft tissue – normal appearance tendon, muscle vs pathology
  4. Elbow = supracondylar

DAY 2 – all applications

Resuscitation – 1 hour

1 hour – 4 x 15 mins per rotation

  1. Subxiphoid + IVC
  2. Advanced cardiac view
  • Lung views
  • ‘Shocked’ scan – simulation scan

Abdomen – 1 hour

1 hour – 4 x 15 mins per rotation

  1. FAST – simulation
  2. Intussusception+ appendicitis
  3. Gallbladder
  4. Renal & Bladder

MSK – 1 hour

1 hour – 4 x 15 mins per rotation

  1. Pediatric hip
  2. Soft tissue/abscess
  3. Knee/ankle (lower extremity)
  4. Normal elbow/wrist (upper extremity)

Vascular assess – floating station

  1. Central/Peripheral – all students practice IV insertion when free between stations

CanPoCUS / PEM-PoCUS Faculty

Dr. Kirstin Weerdenburg (PEM-PoCUS Co-Course Director)

Dr. Kirstin Weerdenburg completed her Pediatrics Residency at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio before completing fellowships in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Pediatric POCUS at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Weerdenburg is Associate Professor in Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at Dalhousie University and Staff Physician and Co-Director for the Pediatric Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) within the Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at IWK Health in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She is actively involved in undergraduate, postgraduate and staff physician education in POCUS at Dalhousie University and IWK Health, as well as taught multiple local and national courses and workshops in POCUS. She is the former Communications Director and current member of P2Network, a group of international pediatricians, who are committed to globally sharing expertise, building research collaborations and offering mentorship in the use of pediatric point-of-care ultrasound. She is involved in national collaborations to establish standardized curriculums in ultrasound for undergraduate medical education. She has authored several chapters in POCUS textbooks and performs research on clinical integration of POCUS for multiple application, as well as medical education and competency for POCUS.

Dr. Emma Burns (PEM-PoCUS Co-Course Director)

Dr. Emma Burns is a staff physician at the IWK Emergency Department. She trained as a paediatrician at Dalhousie University and completed her subspecialty training in Peds Emergency Medicine at the University of Ottawa. On returning to Halifax in 2011 Emma established the Peds ED POCUS program – from obtaining machines to recruiting trained staff – and continues to educate in POCUS at Dalhousie and the IWK. She is the Program Director for the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Subspecialty training program at Dalhousie and the Peds POCUS Director at the IWK for Education and Administration. In her down time, she is learning to play pickleball and trying to convince her children she doesn’t want a dog.

Dr. David Lewis (PEM-PoCUS Faculty)

Dr. David Lewis is a Professor of Emergency Medicine with the Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University. He is a full time Emergency Physician in Saint John, New Brunswick. His undergraduate medical training was at the Royal and Ancient Hospital of St Bartholomew’s Medical School, London. His postgraduate Emergency Medicine training was centered at Cambridge University and the East of England. He completed a postgraduate diploma in Sports and Exercise medicine at Bath University, UK. His areas of special interest include Point-of-care ultrasound, sports medicine, medical informatics, and education. He is the Dalhousie Emergency Medicine Fellowship Director, Director of EM PoCUS, and Academic Chair at the Saint John Regional Hospital. He is the Chair of the Dalhousie Medicine Ultrasound working group, developing, and delivering the undergraduate ultrasound longitudinal curriculum and Ultrasound Lead at Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick. He is a past Chair of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians national PoCUS Committee and is involved in the development of PoCUS education both nationally (Canadian Point of Care Ultrasound Society, CanPoCUS.ca) and internationally (International Federation of Emergency Medicine PoCUS Committee).

Dr. Mandy Peach (PEM-PoCUS Faculty)

Dr. Peach completed her Dalhousie Emergency Medicine PoCUS Fellowship in 2020. She is the Assistant PoCUS Fellowship and Course Director for Emergency Medicine Saint John, Dalhousie. She is a Staff Physician within the Department of Emergency Medicine, Memorial University, St. Johns, Newfoundland. Dr Peach has been the driving force, behind the scenes, developing this course.

Dr. Rawan Al-Rashed (PEM-PoCUS Faculty)

Dr. Al-Rashed is a board certified Pediatric Emergency Physician and Staff Consultant at the King Fahad Medical City Hospital. She completed her Dalhousie Emergency Medicine PoCUS Fellowship in 2022. Dr. Al-Rashed has been instrumental in creating much of the content for this course.

Dr. Kyle Traboulsee (PEM-PoCUS Faculty)

Dr. Traboulsee is a CCFP(EM) Emergency Physician. He is a Staff Physician within the Department of Emergency Medicine, Dalhousie University, Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital, Fredericton New Brunswick. He is the the Assistant PoCUS Fellowship and Course Director for Emergency Medicine Saint John, Dalhousie.


PEM-PoCUS - Next Course

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Upcoming Courses

  • CanPoCUS Core Français – Edmundston,NB (13 Juin 2025) – Cours Complet
  • CanPoCUS Core – Halifax, NS (September 26th, 2025) – Course Full
  • CanPoCUS IP School – Halifax, NS (September 27th, 2025)
  • EMSJ Sim – Debriefing Skills for Simulation (Nov 27th-28th, 2025)

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