First-level clinical point-of-care ultrasound: an essential tool for today’s internist

What are the ultrasound requirements of an internist who admits patients from the emergency department, puts them to bed, treats them, examines them, and monitors them daily? Hospitalists and general practitioners require bedside ultrasound to enhance and optimize the physical examination and improve and optimize the daily monitoring of therapies. For this purpose, comprehensive training on all organs and systems (as is the case for sonographers) is not necessary. Instead, first-level training focused on specific organs and systems is required: the levels of competence of the sonographer and “bedside ultrasound clinician” are complementary and do not conflict. First-level clinical point-of-care ultrasound is much more than a technical skill: the close contact and the real-time nature of the examination facilitate a holistic dialogue with the patient, the “core business” of internal medicine.