What is the Acute Care Core Workshop?
The Acute Care Core workshop is an intense 4-day hands-on workshop designed for participants to obtain full independent practitioner certification at the end of the course. This is the only 4-day workshop in the country and includes a CPoCUS approved introductory course. We are one of the lowest-priced courses in the country for point-of-care ultrasound courses. No prior ultrasound experience or training is required. There will be approximately 100 live models.
It consists of 3 parts:
- Acute Care Core Precourse and Course
- Scans required for CPoCUS IP certification in Acute Care Core
- Exams required for CPoCUS IP certification in Acute Care Core
Participants will learn to perform scans for:
- Detection of global cardiac activity
- Pericardial effusions
- Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms
- Intra-abdominal hemorrhage
- Pneumothorax
- Pleural effusions
- Intrauterine pregnancies (transabdominal).
Acute Care Core Precourse
Beginning in 2027, we will be offering all pre-courses using our newly developed, fully updated in-house curriculum rather than the EDE pre-course format.
Our new pre-course program has been designed to provide the same comprehensive preparation while incorporating the latest evidence, current best practices, and feedback from years of course delivery. Moving to a single in-house curriculum also allows us to ensure greater consistency in educational content and teaching across all of our courses.
If you were planning to take the EDE+ Acute Care pre-course, our 2027 in-house pre-course will serve the same purpose in preparing participants for the main course
“In addition to the precourse materials it is recommended that you FULLY read and review the CPoCUS curriculum as well as reviewing the positive images that are available to you once you have logged in and activated your membership. You will be tested on the CPoCUS curriculum for your written, practical and visual exams.”
CME Credits
Kindly refer to your certificate for all Mainpro+ certified credits at: https://edecourse.com/
Time spent completing determinant scans as well as CPoCUS written, visual and practice exams have not been formally reviewed by the CFPC; however it is eligible for non-certified credits. Mainpro+ participants may also earn additional certified credits by completing a Linking Learning exercise.
Course Itinerary
- Day 1 – 7:15 am – 6 pm – Acute Core course.
- Day 2 – 7:15 am – 6 pm – 40 scanning stations with live models.
- Day 3 – 7:15 am – 6 pm – 30 scanning stations with live models, written exams and practical exams. A social will be held in the evening for participants that wish to attend and instructors. (*Socials may not be offered at all courses)
- Day 4 – 7:15 am – 5 pm – Visual Exams and rewrites. Participants will be scheduled in 3 time slots with a preference for earlier time slots given to those traveling.
**At times there may be changes made to the course itinerary to accommodate a 3 day course which will still cover all components to complete IP certification. If we change a course to a 3 day course we will be running the course on Thursday-Saturdays. All information will be communicated in your precourse email information that will be sent to you 4 weeks in advance.
Scanning Stations
Participants will be partnered up at a scanning station. Each participant will have an allotted time to scan the model while their partner observes. The allotted time will start at 8 mins for the first station and will decrease as the workshop progresses. Participants will be notified when to switch with their partner and when to move to the next station. Partners will be changed throughout the workshop. There may be solo participants depending on overall participant numbers.
Exams
Participants must successfully pass all 3 CPoCUS exams. The exams are based on the CPoCUS curriculum.
- Written Exam to assess knowledge base. The Written Exam is completed online. It is 80 multiple-choice questions with a pass score of 85%.
- Practical Exam to assess image generation skills. The Practical Exam is conducted on a live model with a pass score of 100%. The examiner uses a detailed checklist of the essential skills required of all IP candidates. An IP candidate’s training should be sufficient to allow them to pass the Practical exam without any hesitation in performing skills and without any prompting from the examiner.
- Visual Exam to assess image interpretation skills and the ability to integrate POCUS findings into clinical care. The Visual Exam is conducted on a computer with a pass score of 85% and is 3-4 hours long. These exams take place with a CPoCUS instructor using an interactive video presentation. Candidates are shown images and video clips and are asked to interpret images and incorporate findings into case scenarios.
A valid CPoCUS account with up-to-date membership dues is required for the written and visual exams. This is a different login than the EDE precourse login.
Exam Rewrites
If required, we will provide one written and one practical exam rewrite opportunity. Any subsequently required written or practical rewrites will be your responsibility to arrange. Visual rewrites will be your responsibility to arrange. We will try to provide you with the names of potential examiners in your location.
Certification
At the end of the first day, you will need to complete the Conclusion module of the precourse and evaluation. When you finish this, you will be able to access your Acute Core Course certificate.
At the end of the workshop if the participant has completed all required scans and passed all exams, an application for Independent Practitioner Certification will be submitted to CPoCUS. Please see CPoCUS for more information on IP Certifications.
The workshop is designed to provide all requirements (scans, written exam, practical exam and visual exam) needed for certification. However, we are not able to guarantee that a participant will successfully pass each component during the workshop.
It remains the responsibility of the participant to complete all precourse learning, achieve all required scans, and pass all required exams before an application of independent practitioner status can be submitted.