2026 Workshop - POCUS for the Short of Breath Patient

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has become an invaluable bedside tool for evaluating patients with dyspnea. This interactive workshop combines a focused didactic session with extensive hands-on scanning to teach participants practical cardiac and lung ultrasound techniques that can be immediately incorporated into clinical practice. Learners will recognize common sonographic findings associated with heart failure, pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, right ventricular strain, and pneumothorax while gaining confidence in image acquisition and clinical interpretation through case-based instruction.

Upon completion, participant will be able to: 

• Obtain standard anterior lung and basic cardiac ultrasound views
• Identify normal lung sliding, A-lines, B-lines, and pleural effusions on ultrasound
• Recognize gross left ventricular systolic dysfunction, pericardial effusion, and right ventricular enlargement on focused cardiac ultrasound
• Integrate focused cardiac and lung ultrasound findings into the bedside evaluation of patients presenting with shortness of breath
• Describe the indications and limitations of focused cardiopulmonary POCUS in routine clinical practice.