The Utility of Teaching Bedside Ultrasound to Internal Medicine Residents

Bedside ultrasound is underutilized by internal medicine practitioners. Our institution teaches ultrasound to all internal medicine residents. We present the use of bedside ultrasound for the assessment of deep venous thrombosis as an example of the benefit of incorporating ultrasound into the internal medicine curriculum. Bedside ultrasound was performed by a second year medicine resident on 49 cases suspected to have a deep venous thrombosis. Bedside exams were 100% sensitive and 89% specific, and accomplished on average in less than 5 min, suggesting strong performance in a short time frame.