SRU Ultrasound

While it can seem daunting, this list is a perfect one for getting exposure to and training in basic acute ultrasound. The pace and difficulty of the list is by and large up to you. The only real hurdle is the admin is also up to you - there is generally an ICA who may know how things work, but that's a bit hit and miss.

The list takes place in the Emergency Surgical Unit, on level two in the Trelawney building, and starts at 0930 following the morning meeting, and normally runs until 1230.

The first step is to identify patients for list - these come from 3 main sources - direct discussion or patient lists from the surgical team, and both the “orders” tab in CRIS, and the “Requests” tab. To help identify the relevant patients from the requests and orders tab you can filter by modality, order date, patient type (inpatient and ED) and refloc (to include the emergency surgical unit (REF-RC WD TRESU) and same day surgical assessment unit (REF-RC WD TRSDS)). It is probably worth creating a filter profile. You can also take patients from the adjacent surgical wards, St Mawes and Pendennis (REF-RC WD SM and REF-RC WD PDW), but that isn't mandatory. The main pitfall is where a patient has a scan requested elsewhere, then is transferred to the surgical unit - checking in with the team in the waiting room next door is the best way to avoid this.

Once you have identified the patients who have scans requested you need to vet the scans and contact the surgical nursing team so any needed prep can be started. If there are requests that you are not able to do but need to happen, have a talk with the US coordinator in the main department (on 5188). The normal bread and butter of the list is gallbladders and kidneys, but appendixes and ovaries do end up on the list frequently. Only scan what you are happy to and at a pace you can manage, and it is agreed that the registrars don't have to do pelvises. The surgical team are keen for reports to be issued at the time of scanning.

That's all there is to it. Once you get the hang of the admin it can be a really helpful and useful list with good exposure to acute pathology. Have fun!