Messages from Program Leadership

Message from Timothy O'Connor, M.D., Fellowship Director

Our Fellowship here at the University of Rochester intends to give our fellows a mastery of all of the essentials of Clinical Ultrasound as it is used in the practice of Emergency Medicine. In addition to the core Ultrasound content that needs to be covered, we also want our fellows to be able to focus on those aspects of Clinical Ultrasound that is most relevant to their careers be it program administration, education, research, critical care or routine Emergency Medicine practice. Our program is CUAP accredited by ACEP and our fellowship has applied for EUFAC accreditation for 2021.

In addition to working with the director, our fellows are exposed to several fellowship trained faculty from multiple institutions. Our main teaching site at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s main campus at Strong Memorial Hospital is a high volume, high acuity level 1 trauma center with comprehensive pediatric, burn and stroke programs. Community sites in Rochester, the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions offer fellows arrange of options for clinical work. Educational effort is spent with our large 3-year residency program, Medical Students and offering CME content to regional EM docs. The department is equipped with a dedicated Mindray M9 unit for fellow and faculty use, as well as 4-6 Mindray TE7 units for routine clinical and educational use. Our machines wirelessly interface with our institutional PACS system.

Finally, mentoring for our fellows is seen as a central component of our mission. We want our fellows to be master sonographers and productive faculty, but we also want to help guide young physicians to the careers of their choice and learn to enjoy their work. Ours is a social group who work for balance in our personal and professional lives. 

Timothy O'Connor
Program Director for Emergency Ultrasound fellowship

Message from Michael Lu, M.D., Director of Emergency Ultrasound

Welcome to the University of Rochester Emergency Clinical Ultrasound Fellowship. Our division is a dedicated group of ABEM board-certified and Emergency Ultrasound fellowship-trained faculty who are passionate about the use of point-of-care ultrasound in clinical patient care and education. We have been training ultrasound fellows since 2010, with graduates working across the country in many different clinical environments.

At the U of R, we see a wide variety of patient presentations and pathology, due to our catchment area that encompasses the entire Finger Lakes region and the services that our facility provides, including but not limited to the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, Heart & Vascular Center, Comprehensive Stroke Center, Wilmot Cancer Center, multiple transplant programs, and Golisano Children’s Hospital. This translates into an exciting and diverse educational environment with invaluable clinical experiences for our fellows.

Our fellows also play an active and essential role in our clinical operations and educational activities. Within the last few years, we have expanded our ultrasound footprint through the purchase of multiple new ultrasound machines for dedicated use in the ED and expansion of our educational mission within the institution, the medical school, and the region. In addition, we have very strong Emergency Medicine Research, Prehospital Medicine, and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Divisions within our department that can help foster additional opportunities and interests.

I invite you to explore the additional links on our website for more detailed information regarding our fellowship and application information. Thank you for your interest, and please feel free to contact us.

Michael Lu, MD
Director of Emergency Ultrasound
Department of Emergency Medicine