First the bad news. It takes two years to train a new ultrasound technologist. The learning curve is long and shallow. The hand-eye-screen coordination takes a while to get used to. The machine controls have unfamiliar names and the terminology used to describe things is different.
And the good news? Given enough time and practice, good learning resources and timely quality feedback, pretty much anyone can learn to do it. The question is, are you willing to invest in your future, suffer now and gain the rewards later?
“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now”
We live in exciting times. We know ultrasound imaging provides valuable clinical information. It was the case that the machines were large, expensive, and difficult to use. They were also kept in the radiology department under lock and key. But technology moves fast. Now the machines are small, portable, user-friendly and much less expensive which means ultrasound is available to anyone who is willing to take the time and learn how to use it. And if you can use it, it can help narrow down your differential diagnosis; it can help you manage the patient, not in the morning, not the next day, but now. Bedside or point of care ultrasound is joining forces with clinical history taking and examination. In the near future, as the technology shrinks further, we might see an ultrasound unit in the pocket of every clinician right along side their stethoscope.
Hello Everyone! FiGBUS stands for Field Guide to Bedside Ultrasound and you guessed it, we’re all about promoting bedside ultrasound in the field of medicine. We are a radiologist and an ultrasound technologist based in Northern British Columbia, Canada and our aim is to help medical students and physicians get started with bedside or point of care ultrasound. Through this blog, our goal is to curate some of the best online resources out there for ultrasound beginners as well as provide tips and tricks of our own. In time, we hope to build a community of similar minded clinicians who love using bedside ultrasound to help improve their clinical skills. Check back here for regular posts and if you like us, subscribe to this blog via email.
