UCLA-Affiliated Clinical Ultrasound Fellowship: A Comprehensive Overview

The UCLA-Affiliated Clinical Ultrasound Fellowship is a two-year program designed to cultivate motivated emergency physicians into expert clinicians, educators, and researchers in the field of ultrasound. This fellowship offers a unique blend of experiences across diverse clinical settings, from resource-limited environments serving medically underserved communities to state-of-the-art facilities equipped with cutting-edge technology. The program emphasizes advanced echocardiography, critical care, and medical education.

History of the Fellowship

The UCLA Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship was initiated in 2010 by Carmen Partida, who served as the fellowship director until 2012. Alan Chiem and Dan Weingrow revitalized the fellowship in 2013 and co-directed it until 2021. In 2021, a significant development occurred with the merging of the UCLA EM POCUS Fellowship and the Harbor-UCLA POCUS Fellowship, along with the integration of the VA Health System, resulting in the formation of the All-UCLA Clinical and Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship. Teresa Liu served as the inaugural director from 2021-23, with Jackie Shibata currently holding the position.

Program Overview and Objectives

The UCLA-Affiliated Clinical Ultrasound Fellowship primarily seeks graduates from four-year ACGME-accredited Emergency Medicine residencies. Each year, two positions are typically available. However, select one-year fellowship positions may be offered to candidates with advanced training. The program's mission is to develop leaders in clinical emergency medicine ultrasonography by providing comprehensive training, academic mentorship, and opportunities for faculty development.

The fellowship aims to equip fellows with the skills to:

Become proficient clinicians in emergency ultrasound.
Excel as educators, capable of teaching ultrasound to residents, medical students, and attending physicians.
Conduct meaningful research in the field of ultrasound.
Develop and administer ultrasound programs.

The program emphasizes the highest standards of practice, education, and academic investigation in clinical ultrasonography to benefit patients, trainees, and the medical specialty.

Training Sites

A distinctive feature of the UCLA-Affiliated CUS is its integration of four unique sites:

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (RRMC)

Located on the UCLA campus in Westwood, RRMC is a 520-bed academic medical center providing a comprehensive range of medical and surgical services. This state-of-the-art facility houses the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, the Stewart and Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA, and the Mattel Children's Hospital. UCLA is consistently ranked among the top medical centers in the United States by US News and World Report.

Olive View-UCLA Medical Center (OV-UCLA)

OV-UCLA is a public safety net hospital serving the two million residents of the San Fernando Valley. As a major teaching affiliate of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, OV-UCLA provides training opportunities for medical students, residents, and fellows. Residents of the UCLA Emergency Medicine residency program spend 50% of their training at OV-UCLA. The hospital has 377 beds, and its Emergency Department, built in 2011, has 51 beds and serves approximately 60,000 patients annually.

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is a crucial safety net hospital serving over 700,000 residents in the South Bay of Los Angeles. Its high-volume, high-acuity Emergency Department sees approximately 90,000 patient visits annually from a largely underserved population. Harbor-UCLA is the only Level 1 Trauma Center, Pediatric Trauma Center, Pediatric Critical Medical Center, Disaster Resource Center, Stroke Center, Academic STEMI Receiving Center, and Nursing and Paramedic Training Center in the South Bay. It is a suburban county hospital with a patient population demonstrating a wide variety of pathologic states.

West Los Angeles VA Medical Center (VAMC)

The West Los Angeles VAMC is part of the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare System and is affiliated with UCLA.

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Curriculum and Experience

The curriculum adheres to the ultrasound fellowship guidelines established by the Ultrasound Section of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

UCLA-Affiliated Clinical Ultrasound Fellows benefit from the following:

Faculty Appointments: Fellows serve as academic faculty of the Harbor-UCLA and UCLA Ronald Reagan/Olive View Emergency Medicine residencies and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Expert Mentorship: Fellows learn from a core group of POCUS faculty, with diverse interests, experience, and ongoing projects.
Advanced Education Opportunities: Fellows can pursue a subsidized Master's program or advanced fellowship at UCLA, often in research, medical education, public policy, or public health.
Leadership Development: Fellows develop leadership skills through practice, teaching, administration, and program development.
Hands-on Experience: Fellows gain extensive experience performing and interpreting bedside ultrasound exams, which directly impact clinical decisions and are integrated into the hospital's PACS system. Several thousand training exams are recorded each year. Active. All core ultrasound faculty are fellowship-trained with extensive supporting faculty.

Bedside exams performed include (but are not limited to) cardiac, IUP, biliary, aortic, DVT, renal, vascular, soft tissue, pulmonary, procedure-based (e.g., lumbar punctures, nerve blocks, venous access, peritonsillar abscess drainage, etc.).

Fellows lead bedside ultrasound sessions with emergency medicine and off-service residents, medical students, and attending physicians. They also participate in conferences, meetings, and simulation sessions.

Administrative responsibilities include weekly QA/QI, machine maintenance, and program development.

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Ultrasound Resources at Harbor-UCLA

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center has a brand new Emergency Department and with that has a total of 12 brand-new and full-featured ultrasound machines. The hospital utilizes Q-path for reviewing images and has the ability to upload bedside ultrasounds into the hospital-wide PACS system. The hospital relies on ultrasound examinations for patient care decisions. Yes at Harbor-UCLA and Ronald Regan-UCLA.

Core Faculty

The core ultrasound faculty includes:

Zahir Basrai, MD: APD of Wellness & Compliance
Alan Chiem, MD: APD of Education
Timothy Jang, MD: APD of Administration and Board Preparation

Scholarly Activity

A scholarly project is required during the fellowship, tailored toward an interest in ultrasound administration (ultrasound director at a private ED) or academic ultrasound.

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