Interest in ultrasound education in medical schools has increased dramatically in recent years as reflected in a marked increase in publications on the topic and growing attendance at international meetings on ultrasound education. In 2006, the University of South Carolina School of Medicine introduced an integrated ultrasound curriculum (iUSC) across all years of medical school. That curriculum has evolved significantly over the 9 years. A review of the curriculum is presented, including curricular content, methods of delivery of the content, student assessment, and program assessment. Lessons learned in implementing and expanding an integrated ultrasound curriculum are also presented as are thoughts on future directions of undergraduate ultrasound education. Ultrasound has proven to be a valuable active learning tool that can serve as a platform for integrating the medical student curriculum across many disciplines and clinical settings. It is also well-suited for a competency-based model of medical education. Students learn ultrasound well and have embraced it as an important component of their education and future practice of medicine. An international consensus conference on ultrasound education is recommended to help define the essential elements of ultrasound education globally to ensure ultrasound is taught and ultimately practiced to its full potential. Ultrasound has the potential to fundamentally change how we teach and practice medicine to the benefit of learners and patients across the globe.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13089-015-0035-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

As ultrasound devices become smaller, more portable, and more user friendly, there is now widespread use of this technology by physicians of all specialties, yet there are currently few structured opportunities for ultrasound education outside of emergency and critical care medicine. Anticipating the rising educational demand in the primary care specialties, the University of South Carolina School of Medicine created a primary care ultrasound fellowship in 2011, the first yearlong training program in point-of-care ultrasonography for graduates of internal medicine, medicine-pediatrics, pediatrics, and family medicine residencies. This paper reviews the history of point-of-care ultrasonography fellowships and then provides an overview of the primary care ultrasound fellowship.

The long-axis, in-plane approach compared to the short-axis, out-of-plane approach for ultrasound-guided cannulation on a phantom resulted in fewer posterior wall punctures, better needle tip visibility, and higher preference among novices.

We depict the first known case of dexmedetomidine causing high fevers and delirium.

Tracheal US can be highly accurate in identifying the location of the ETT, in real time, in ICU patients undergoing emergent intubation. Although our study shows a great potential of real-time US use during emergent intubations, larger studies would be needed to further evaluate the accuracy of this technique.