Point‐counterpoint: Should point‐of‐care ultrasound be a required skill of hospitalists?

Clinical progress note: 5 Essential point‐of‐care ultrasound skills for hospitalists

“…Point‐of‐care ultrasound (POCUS) is a bedside diagnostic tool with a broad range of applications that has entered the hospitalist armamentarium in recent years. Whether or not all hospitalists should be required to use POCUS is currently debated 1 ; however, missing or delaying certain diagnoses, especially those that can have a major impact on a patient's immediate care, may be considered a violation of standard of care in an era when POCUS has become nearly ubiquitous in acute care settings. We present five high‐yield POCUS applications that can be easily learned and performed by a hospitalist: left ventricular systolic function (LVSF) and volume status, pericardial effusion, pleural effusion, ascites, and lower extremity (LE) deep venous thrombosis (DVT).…”

“…Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a bedside diagnostic tool with a broad range of applications that has entered the hospitalist armamentarium in recent years. Whether or not all hospitalists should be required to use POCUS is currently debated 1 ; however, missing or delaying certain diagnoses, especially those that can have a major impact on a patient's immediate care, may be considered a violation of standard of care in an era when POCUS has become nearly ubiquitous in acute care settings.…”