1. Tell us how and why you became interested in ultrasound?
During my Emergency Medicine at Mayo Clinic, I gained exposure to point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) for procedural guidance. I was immediately drawn to the hands-on and technical aspects of using ultrasound, and began advancing my use for diagnostic purposes. After a few cases of diagnosing acute pathology at the bedside (AAA, free fluid, and DVT to name a few), I was hooked! Following residency, I decided to expand my ultrasound training and pursued an Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship at Yale, while also working toward obtaining my Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS) certification. Ever since I’ve adopted a liberal use of POCUS in my clinical practice, I can say without a doubt that it’s made me a better Emergency Physician, and I can’t imagine practicing without it!

2. Talk about your role as Program Director of the Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship Program at The Scarborough Hospital in Toronto.
I’m thrilled to be able to bring the skills that I’ve learned during my own EUS Fellowship training to the Emergency Medicine community in Toronto! Our team built the Fellowship Program from the ground up, and our Department went all in with the purchase of 4 additional new ultrasound machines and QPath software for archiving. I’m truly proud of what we’ve accomplished. It certainly helps that I have an extremely supportive Department Chair and 2 amazing fellows this year!

3. What prompted the writing of your book Ultrasound for the Win!?
When trying to learn more about ultrasound myself during residency, I found that there was a void in high-yield POCUS books geared toward Emergency Physicians. I found that the few textbooks that were available, while informative, could be quite dense and intimidating to read. So I decided to develop a book that I, myself, and I believe most Emergency Physicians, would appreciate — a case-based interactive and easy-to-read format that’s clinically relevant to our daily practice. It’s a book that a medical student or resident interested in POCUS can easily read and reference during an Emergency Medicine rotation.

4. What’s one thing you learned about yourself through the writing/editing process?
It’s made me realize just how obsessed I am with ultrasound! Writing and putting together the book was hard work, but also enjoyable and extremely satisfying! Seeing these real cases compiled one after another really highlights the potentially life-saving role of POCUS in medicine, and the profound difference it can make in improving patient care and outcomes.

5. What advice would you offer medical students when it comes to ultrasound?
Scan many and scan often—it’s simple; the more you practice POCUS, the better you will be at it! Also, don’t be afraid to take initiative in your own education—while some attendings may not be comfortable enough with POCUS to teach it to you, don’t let that be a deterrent to your own learning. There’s a plethora of resources available online, including Matt & Mike’s Ultrasound Podcast and Academic Life in Emergency Medicine that you can reference!

How did you become interested in ultrasound? What are your go-to resources? What book would you like to see written? Share your thoughts and ideas here and on Twitter: @AIUM_Ultrasound.

Jeffrey Shih, MD, RDMS, is an Emergency Physician and author of the book Ultrasound for the Win! Emergency Medicine Cases. He is Program Director of the Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship Program at The Scarborough Hospital in Toronto, Canada, and Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He can be reached at jeffrey.shih@utoronto.ca and on Twitter: @jshihmd