UltraFest: Inspiring and Educating Medical Students in Point-of-Care Ultrasound

In February, students from both Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine’s University Program hosted UltraFest. The goal of this annual student-led symposium is to inspire and educate medical students about the utility of point-of-care ultrasound and equip them with the knowledge and skills they will need to begin using ultrasound in their clinical practice.

Held at the Cleveland Clinic Simulation and Advanced Skills Center, this year’s UltraFest included six stations: cardiac; gastrointestinal; musculoskeletal; procedural; neck and thyroid; and kidney and bladder. At each station, students were given the opportunity to learn how to perform and understand point-of-care ultrasound examinations with the help of a physician faculty member.

“I think the most helpful aspect of UltraFest is the opportunity for students to get hands-on experience scanning real people. Having dedicated time to get experience performing point-of-care ultrasound, especially on real people, is incredibly useful in helping us build such a critical skill,” says CCLCM student Mike Komarovsky (‘27), who served on the Education Committee and helped plan and run the procedural station. After the success of this year, Mike plans to be an event lead for next year’s event.

When Mike participated in UltraFest as an undergraduate student, he recalled being impressed by both the technology and the event leaders’ skills.

“Seeing my heart beating and my lungs moving and looking at my gallbladder was such an incredible experience. I had never learned about ultrasound before, and I was immediately hooked. I knew then that I wanted to get involved in leading UltraFest if I was lucky enough to get into medical school,” says Mike.

This year’s UltraFest was led by Jonathan Lee (CWRU M2), Kiana Loo (CWRU M2), Nikhil Pramod (‘26), Neil Rana (CWRU M2) and Jack Zhao (CWRU M2). The physician leaders included Robert Jones, DO, from MetroHealth; Lauren McCafferty, MD, from University Hospitals; Shetal Shah, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic; and Courtney Smalley, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic. Under the guidance of dedicated student leaders and experienced physician mentors, this year’s UltraFest exemplified the impact of point-of-care ultrasound education.

“I loved seeing how excited and engaged everyone was as they were rotating through the stations,” says Mike. “I can’t wait to see what next year will bring.”