Clinical ultrasound: what you need to know about the different training courses

Clinical ultrasound is revolutionizing the daily lives of healthcare professionals. Today, it is a key solution for orienting and refining diagnosis, and accelerating patient care. It is one of the key skills to be acquired.

How do you learn, and what approach should you adopt for effective learning? What equipment should you choose to get started ?

This guide gives you the essentials you need to learn clinical ultrasound.

Why train in clinical ultrasound?

Clinical ultrasound does not replace traditional imaging, but it is an integral part of your medical examination, providing an immediate response. The aim? Reduce uncertainty and guide decision-making.

A Danish study published in 2020 in the British Medical Journal shows that it modifies or refines the diagnosis in almost one consultation in two (49.4%). Supported by the WHO and the International Society of Ultrasound in Emergency Medicine (SIUM), ultrasound is becoming an essential tool in general and emergency medicine.

It enables :

• clarify non-specific symptoms (abdominal, chest, cardiac, urinary, pulmonary pain, etc.);
• confirm or refute a hypothesis ;
• assess the seriousness of a situation.

Clinical ultrasound transforms the way you practice medicine. It improves the way you examine a patient, giving you instant visibility of his or her clinical condition.

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Clinical ultrasound training programs

Private learning sessions

Private programs offer students great flexibility in terms of format and duration. Practical workshops, face-to-face seminars or online modules, they adapt to the constraints of healthcare professionals wishing to train:

• EchoFirst, certified by QUALIOPI and Développement Professionnel Continu (DPC), specializes exclusively in clinical ultrasound training. It offers face-to-face programs, distance learning and virtual reality simulators for interactive clinical cases.
• Eduprat is also a CPD-certified teaching organization, with comprehensive curricula combining interactive hands-on workshops and e-learning modules.
• A2FM is an association dedicated to enhancing the skills of doctors, offering a variety of content, both face-to-face and online.
• The Collège des Hautes Études en Médecine (CHEM ) is a CPD-certified organization offering programs designed in collaboration with experts and medical faculties.

While these online solutions enable you to acquire the basics quickly, they are often too short, generally lasting two days. Although intensive, they lack long-term support and real, in-depth practical application.

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University programs

University Diplomas (DU) and Inter-University Diplomas (DIU) offer a structured academic framework for training in clinical ultrasound, combining theoretical teaching and simulation.

In France, there are 32 DUs and DIUs in clinical ultrasound for healthcare professionals wishing to integrate it into their daily practice. The DUs and DIUs are much longer and offer a solid academic framework, but with limited scope for practical application.

Although essential for other specialties (radiology, cardiology), these curricula may be over-designed for use in general medicine, where thekey is handling and experience in the field.

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Clinical ultrasound training becomes mandatory for new generations

Clinical ultrasound is becoming a standard skill for professionals in training. Since 1998, the WHO has been recommending that ultrasound training be integrated into medical studies, stressing its importance in improving access to care and refining clinical diagnosis.

Some universities have decided tointegrate this apprenticeship into the core curriculum of medical studies.

What does this mean in practical terms?

• Nowadays, young doctors graduate with training in clinical ultrasound, ensuring that they are comfortable with the equipment and able to offer this service from their very first years in practice.
• Professionals already in practice who have not mastered it risk finding themselves out of step with this new generation of practitioners, who handle the ultrasound scanner as naturally as a stethoscope.

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Integrated training

The University of Toulouse is a pioneer in making clinical ultrasound training compulsory. All medical students, whatever their speciality, are trained in it.

In January 2024, Université Paris Cité launched the POCUS (Point of Care Ultrasound) program. This optional module enables graduate students to gain initial practical experience in clinical ultrasound.

In the first session, 180 DFASM3 students were trained. Its approach is based on progressive learning, integrated into the first years of medical studies.

Dr Jérôme Bokobza, an emergency physician, is a member of the POCUS group and also coordinates the Partisan de l'équipement à grande échelle et à titre individuel, he defends the use of systematic ultrasound, for earlier and safer diagnoses.

The aim? To make clinical ultrasound part of the routine for the new generation of doctors working in practices and emergency departments.

For practicing professionals, it's an opportunity to enhance your practice and improve the quality of the support you provide to your patients.

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Comparison of clinical ultrasound training programs

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Why practice before training is essential?

Ultrasound is above all a manual skill

Like driving, practice makes perfect. Ultrasound scanning is a manual skill: only by repeating the gesture can you progress. In practice? You need 30 to 40 cuts per organ to develop your bearings and gain fluidity.

By integrating it into your daily routine, the gesture becomes as fluid as auscultation with a stethoscope.

Equip first, learn later: that's the key

Waiting until you've completed a full learning curve can slow you down. Having a probe from the start optimizes your learning curve: the more you handle it, the more confident you become.

Practicing on yourself, your colleagues or your patients helps you to develop automatisms and to associate the image with real anatomy. Your equipment becomes an essential everyday solution.

Get started! Regular use makesclinical ultrasound a natural reflex in your consultations.

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Which instrument should I choose for clinical ultrasound training?

Top-of-the-range appliances: an often excessive choice

Investing in a top-of-the-range ultrasound scanner may seem reassuring, but it's not necessarily the right choice when you're just starting out. Their high price tag - some devices can cost up to €6,000 - and technical complexity make them difficult to exploit to the full.

Without proper training, this equipment often ends up being under-utilized. A portable model is more intuitive, so you can adopt it straight away.

Echopen : the ultrasound scanner designed for easy learning and everyday use

For regular practice, you need a simple device that's always at hand. Echopen meets this need with a compact, intuitive device connected to your smartphone:

• Connect, scan, visualize : in just a few seconds, you have a clear picture for immediate assessment of the situation.
• Essential without superfluous : perfect for detecting effusions, obstructions or pneumopathy, without the constraints of high-end models.
• Affordable and practical: three times less expensive than a premium ultraportable ultrasound scanner, it fits in your pocket and can be used whenever you need it.

Its ultra-portable probe offers three frequencies (3.5 MHz, 5 MHz and 7.5 MHz), enabling examination of the main anatomical structures, from lungs to abdominal organs.

Our aim? To give you easier access toclinical ultrasound, with a high-performance, ready-to-use device.

 Clinical ultrasound has become an indispensable tool for refining diagnosis and improving support. The practice is increasingly integrated into medical studies, and its gradual development makes it an essential skill for the medicine of today and tomorrow.

But the key to making the most of it lies in practice. It's a skill that can only be acquired through regular handling in real-life situations.

A probe like echOpen makes it easy and efficient to integrate clinical ultrasound into your daily routine. Contact us today and make echOpen a part of your daily routine.