
National Emergency Medicine Point of Care Ultrasound Education & Training
The 2021 RCEM curriculum brought changes to the PoCUS syllabus, strengthening the process of acquiring
and maintaining essential competencies in a sustainable manner across postgraduate training years.
SLO6 - Point of Care Ultrasound Competence Entrustment Scale: Guidance for Education and Training 2022
RCEM recommends a well-structured PoCUS education and training programme - fully supported, funded,
and resourced by the regional school of EM. This national PoCUS training strategy will be led and supported
by a team of PoCUS experts from across Scotland. The work will support and consolidate existing local
teaching, which is variable and geographically inequitable, despite the best efforts of EM Consultants under
extreme clinical service pressures.
Collaborating with St Andrews University in the design, development and delivery of courses brings
Scotland’s EM trainees unique access to state-of-the-art facilities, the latest AI and augmented reality
technology to practice live scanning and simulated needle insertion as well as expert faculty and cadaveric
material for realistic scanning skills acquisition.
Our first study day will be piloted at the ‘Introductory’ level and will map to the following RCEM
recommended format:
Following this one-day pilot, we intend to demonstrate both educational and financial measures of success
and further develop the programme providing options for Intermediate and Refresher/Advanced skills.
Providing focussed, consistent and sequential learning days will hugely benefit our trainees and mirror the
programme of Mastery Skills Training days by gradually increasing in complexity and entrustment level.
This new national programme will provide a foundation and educational framework in EM PoCUS training
that is equitable, financially efficient and specifically curriculum focussed. Firmly establishing fundamental
skills early in ACCS years, as recommended by RCEM, will enable all EM trainees across Scotland to advance
through the dynamic competency-based model as intended.
The first pilot of this course will be held at the University of St Andrews on the 24th June 2025.
Bookings can be made online via this link: course booking link
All attendees on this course will be required to complete the pre-course learning. This is expected to take approximately 1.5-2hrs and details will be made available closer to the course date.