Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Certificate
General Overview & Longitudinal Curriuclum Proposal
The Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certificate Program (POCUS-CP) is designed for students with a strong interest in developing an additional expertise in the use of ultrasound at the bedside as an integrated part of their pre-clinical and clinical experience.
Advances in ultrasound image quality and machine portability in recent years have allowed for its expanded clinical use at the bedside, or point-of-care (POCUS). Though initially a practice common to the Emergency Department, POCUS has become a part of training and daily practice across medical and surgical specialties.
In the past 10 years the interest has progressed to the undergraduate medical education level, with many schools offering a range of opportunities for exposure to the practice, from elective courses to school-wide longitudinal curricula.
The introduction of the 4th year POCUS elective, ultrasound lab in the anatomy course for first year students, and the ultrasound mini-elective have been well received and supported by the UPSOM student body.
Goals, Requirements, & Timeline
Please click this link for a full description of the overall goals and objectives, requirements, and general timeline in order to complete the POCUS Certificate.
Community Service Certificate
General Overview
We want to invite all medical students to consider applying for the Community Service Certificate offered by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, designed to recognize the service accomplishments of our outstanding students. Volunteering for the Guerilla Eye Service, helping or organizing a health fair, mentoring at-risk youth—it’s important work, that should be rewarding in and of itself. However, we also feel that medical students deserve additional recognition when they take time out of their busy schedules to do significant amounts of this community service.
Twice a year OMED awards certificates to all students who have met the below requirements. Students can receive more than one certificate if they demonstrate additional service over the course of their time at Pitt; at most, students can receive one certificate per calendar year. The Office of Student Affairs receives notification of the certificates, which can then be included in your MSPE (“Dean’s letter”). At any time, students can access their certificate in their file at Student Affairs.
Requirements
To earn the Community Service Certificate, the requirements are:
- A recorded-log containing a minimum of 100 hours of community service (at least 60% must be direct external work)
- A 500-word essay describing your activities and why it was important to you
Application Submission
Upload the community service log and reflection essay to your Navigator Portfolio, or submit directly to Michelle Sergent, who coordinates the certificate program.
The deadline for the Fall submission is Friday, October 25th.
Certificate of Recognition in Mentoring
The School of Medicine also offers a Certificate of Recognition for Mentoring to students who engage in significant unpaid mentoring activities. This certificate is administered by the Office of Student Affairs. For more information, please see the Office of Student Affairs website: Peer-Mentoring | School of Medicine Office of Student Affairs | University of Pittsburgh