Over the last two decades, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has come to play a major and indisputable role in the practice of emergency medicine and critical care. The ability to recognize a cardiac tamponade, aortic abdominal aneurysm, pneumothorax or intra-abdominal free fluid has changed clinical practice to a great extent in acute care. Furthermore, patient’s satisfaction and physician’s clinical comfort have both improved thanks to the ease of vascular access and the added clinical value of ultrasound use. This technology described as the stethoscope of the future has become an indispensable tool. Yet, POCUS is a milestone supported as such by most national emergency medicine organisations and included in training recommendation.
Ultrasonography however is an operator-dependent exam and these inter-operator differences lead to variations in quality. Training minimizes these inter-operator differences. Although there is yet no international accreditation for POCUS use, there are now consensus criteria on many national levels around the world concerning good practice and assessment.
Since 2017, Belgian Emergency ultrasound Society (BEUS) stands to promote POCUS at the level of international emergency medicine standards. BEUS is a group of dedicated POCUS’ users working as emergency physicians in university and non-university hospitals all over Belgium.
BEUS 