Andrew Ross and Christina Hendricks Teach Sonography at Blackhawk Technical College 

Posted on May 2022

Associate Professor Andrew Ross, MD, MPH and Sonographer Lead Christina Hendricks traveled to Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville, Wisconsin to teach musculoskeletal ultrasound to Blackhawk sonography students.  

This is the first time UW Radiology has partnered with Blackhawk Technical College. Hendricks explained, “In 2021, the ultrasound department at University Hospital started hosting the first- and second-year sonography students from Blackhawk for clinicals, but through a chance encounter at UW, the Blackhawk program director and I started discussing my experience as an MSK sonographer, including teaching MSK ultrasound to a variety of learners with the help of many of our MSK radiologists. I reached out to Dr. Ross to see if he would be interested in presenting some lectures and together, we could teach hands-on scan labs with the students.” 

During the day of teaching, Dr. Ross gave three lectures. The first was focused on shoulder ultrasound and intervention, the second focused on ankle and foot anatomy and pathology, and the third focused on wrist anatomy and scanning. To help the students process the information and use the skills discussed in the lectures, each lecture was followed by a hands-on scan lab related to that lecture. Hendricks started each scan lab session with a live demonstration of the imaging protocol and then assisted the students as they practiced scanning each other. Hendricks said, “These practical imaging concepts combined with Dr. Ross’ lectures gave the students thorough knowledge of the basics of MSK ultrasound that they can apply to many other patient care scenarios.” 

Dr. Ross said, “Education is one of the core missions of the Department and lets us help contribute to the development of the next generation of medical professionals. Maintaining UW’s visibility also lets us recruit the best graduating students to come work with us as part of the UW team.” Christina Hendricks added, “UW is a teaching hospital. We have the benefit of many subspecialized physicians and sonographers teaching and learning advanced concepts to offer cutting-edge high-quality patient care. Providing educational outreach in this format introduces our students to advanced ultrasound concepts and gives them skills and knowledge to apply the basics to practical scenarios they will encounter over their career.” 

Blackhawk’s Program Lead, Michele Spates, was thrilled with results to the partnership, saying, “Christina [was] amazing in the scan lab with [her] patience and wealth of knowledge. [Her] ability to meet the students where they are at and help them to see and understand each anatomical area is wonderful.