Recap and Review: Inaugural ACEP Ultrasound Section Fellow Speakers Symposium

May 8, 2025

Trent She, MD, FACEP
Hartford Hospital, University of Connecticut
Alexis Salerno, MD, FACEP
University of Maryland, School of Medicine
Sandy Werner, MD, FPD-AEMUS, FACEP
MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University
Di Coneybeare, MD, MHPE
Columbia University Medical Center, Vagelos School of Physicians and Surgeons

The ACEP Ultrasound Fellowship Education Subcommittee aimed to establish an ACEP Fellows Speaker Symposium that gives current ultrasound fellows an opportunity to speak on a national level and to provide mentorship between those fellows and a nationally recognized mentor outside of their institution. The overall goal was to expand the mentorship network for emergency ultrasound fellows and to give fellows a chance to work with a content expert that they otherwise may not have the ability to meet or work with. We solicited applications nationally from any current emergency ultrasound fellows. Each fellow submitted an area of content interest that we used to match them with a mentor who specializes in those areas. This year, we paired 6 fellows with 6 distinguished mentors.

All fellows met a number of times with their assigned faculty to discuss their ultrasound interests, select a specific topic, receive coaching and craft a 10-minute TED-like talk to give at the symposium. Fellows were given feedback from our judging panel both contemporaneously and after the symposium ended. A panel of judges evaluated the fellows on content, organization, delivery, slides, time management, knowledge and expertise, clarity and professionalism. The winning speaker will present their lecture at the ACEP EUS Section Meeting at the National ACEP Meeting in September, 2025.

Our Judges:

Sandy Werner
MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Meghan Herbst
University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT
Matt Lipton
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN

Below are some quick lecture summaries from our six fellows and mentors.

“The Axillary Avenger: Your Super Nerve Block for those Pesky Wrist and Arm Fractures”

Speaker: John Bowling, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA
Mentor: Zachary Boivin, Yale University, New Haven, CT

• Tired of hematoma blocks not working or doing sedations for your distal radius fractures?! Try the axillary brachial plexus nerve block! It is easy to learn and blocks pretty much the whole forearm.
• It is not as risky as the supraclavicular brachial plexus block, and your patients can get up to 12-15 hours of analgesia when you use an anesthetic like bupivacaine or ropivacaine.
• Not only does this block pain, but it also blocks muscles too! It makes your forearm fracture reductions seamless!

“Resuscitative TEE in the Emergency Department” 

Speaker: Erin Cuddeback, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MIMentor: Michael Jones, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

• Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is highly useful in cardiac arrest, and is recommended by ACEP guidelines. Below is a list of the benefits for TEE over conventional transthoracic point-of-care echocardiography (TTE).
  • TTE can cause long delays in chest compressions over 10 seconds, which is avoided in TEE.
  • It can be hard to find a spot on the chest to perform TTE, and as well a location to park the ultrasound machine. In TEE, there is usually plenty of space at the airway.
  • Compressions can happen over the LVOT, which can drastically decrease the success of cardiac arrest resuscitation which can be seen in TEE.
  • TEE can rapidly and accurately diagnose reversible causes of cardiac arrest, potentially more so than TTE.

“Ready, Set, Go: Gamification for Success” Best Lecture, As Voted on by the Attendees

Speaker: Sophia Fornbacher, Riverside Community Hospital, Riverside, CA
Mentor: Jordan Rupp, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

• What is gamification?
• How does game theory work towards gamification?
• What gamification elements are essential to successful learning and learner participation?
• Personal experiences during a cross-border gamification event day and real-time challenges that we faced and how to workshop through them!

“Revolutionizing Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Education with Connectivism and Social Media” 

Speaker: Alina Mitina, New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY

Mentor: Matthew Riscinti, Denver Health, Denver, CO

• Explore how connectivism—a modern learning theory rooted in digital networks—can enhance POCUS education through peer-to-peer interaction and global collaboration
• Highlight the effectiveness of platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube in giving access to high-yield ultrasound content for trainees
• Share my vision for my research initiative evaluating YouTube ultrasound content for certification-level quality, with the goal of guiding learners toward credible, high-value educational resources

 “Perdurar: Keys to Leaving an Enduring Impact”

Speaker: Irbert Vega, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT
Mentor: Francisco Javier Andrade Jr., Abrazo Health Emergency Medicine, Phoenix, AZ

• Identify specific challenges to adoption of POCUS faced by the EM residency at Hospital Cabral y Baez in the Dominican Republic
• Identify specific strategies clinicians in the Dominican Republic in partnership with University of Connecticut have adopted to overcome these barriers
• Identify keys to successful partnership between these two institutions

“Stellate Ganglion Block for Refractory Ventricular Fibrillation in the Emergency Department”

Speaker: Curtis Xu, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME
Mentor: Jonathan Brewer, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX

Speaker is invited to lecture at EUS offering at ACEP25 Scientific Assembly in Salt Lake City, UT

• The stellate ganglion block is intended to block the sympathetic chain located within the stellate ganglion in the anterior neck.
• Although this block has seen significant use in a myriad of conditions (neuropathic pain, regional pain syndromes, peripheral vascular disease pain), use of it for refractory ventricular tachyarrhythmias in the emergency department is relatively novel.
• Use the anterior tubercle of the C6 transverse process, the longus colli muscle and the carotid artery to locate the proper area of injection.

Here is a link to the symposium for you to watch: (please sign-in with your ACEP credentials)