ADVANCED SHORT COURSE · 1 DAY

Right Heart, Pulmonary Embolism and Pericardial Emergencies

1 full day

6 contact hours

Melbourne, VIC

You train hands-on with the same ultrasound equipment used in Heartscope's cardiology clinics.

Course overview

This course extends your existing echo experience to right-heart and pericardial assessment in acute care. You'll practise obtaining the views and use clinical cases to compare normal appearances with findings in critically unwell patients.

Case discussions cover pathology you may not encounter during practical scanning. You'll consider how the findings fit the patient's presentation, what focused echo cannot establish and when additional investigations are needed.

Who this course is for

Intensivists and intensive care registrars

Emergency physicians and registrars

Anaesthetists and anaesthetic registrars

Cardiology trainees

General and respiratory physicians

Sonographers extending into critical care

Entry requirements

For healthcare professionals

You should already be able to obtain the standard views. Our Cardiac Ultrasound: Core Practice course covers them, as do comparable hands-on courses elsewhere.

In-person attendance

You'll need to attend our Melbourne training centre. The practical sessions can't be completed online.

Course objectives

On completion, participants will be able to:

Optimise right-heart views

Refine image acquisition and machine settings for consistent RV and pericardial assessment.

Assess RV size and function

Use the appropriate imaging planes and measurements to build a structured right-heart assessment.

Recognise PE-associated findings

Identify echo findings that may support assessment of significant pulmonary embolism while understanding that echo cannot exclude PE.

Assess pericardial effusion

Identify an effusion and distinguish it from common mimics and artefacts.

Recognise tamponade features

Work through chamber collapse, IVC findings and clinical integration using pathology cases.

Course curriculum

The main learning areas are outlined below.

Course outcomes

You'll practise a consistent approach to right-heart and pericardial assessment.



You'll use clinical cases to recognise findings that need further investigation.



You'll receive a Scope Institute certificate recording the training you've completed. This is non-accredited professional training. It isn't CPD-accredited, but doctors can self-record eligible hours.

Accreditation

This course is not currently accredited by a specialist college and no CPD points are attached to it. Applications are in progress with the bodies listed below, and this page will be updated as each is confirmed.

Applications in progress

ACEM

Australasian College for Emergency Medicine

ASUM

Australasian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine

CICM

College of Intensive Care Medicine

ANZCA

Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists

RACGP

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners

ACRRM

Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine

No accreditation should be assumed until it is stated here. The certificate issued on completion documents the contact hours completed and the topics covered.

Frequently asked questions