PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Board-certified emergency physician and internationally recognized medical educator with over a decade of leadership in point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) education. Co-creator of Core Ultrasound, a digital education platform serving 25% of U.S. emergency medicine residencies (200+ programs) with over 20,000 YouTube subscribers. Bilingual (English/Spanish) invited speaker at over 400 lectures and workshops across six continents. Director of Digital Education for FemInEM, advocate for LGBTQIA+ inclusion and transgender healthcare in emergency medicine. California ACEP Board of Directors
credentials
credentials
credentials
credentials
credentials
credentials
State Licensure
California – CA 173756
Board Certifications
Emergency Medicine Board Certified (ABEM), November 2016
Other Credentials
Focused Practice Designation in Advanced Emergency Medicine Ultrasonography. (Registered FPD-AEMUS)
RDMS: Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
experience
experience
experience
experience
experience
experience
experience
05/2026 - Present
STAFF PHYSICIAN
Vituity – Imperial Beach Community Clinic and Nestor Community Clinic
10/2021 - Present
Emergent Medical Associates Southwest Health Care, California Staff Physician
Department of Emergency Medicine. Temecula Valley Hospital Temecula, CA
09/2021 - 01/2023
Vice President of Clinical Training and Education
Butterfly Network Incorporated Burlington, MA (Remote / Online)
07/2017 - 10/2021
UK Chandler, KY Emergency medicine physician
Emergency Department University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
07/2017 - 10/2021
UK Good Samaritan, KY Emergency Medicine Physician
Department of Emergency Department University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
leadership
leadership
leadership
leadership
leadership
leadership
leadership
07/2024 – Present
Co-Ultrasound Fellowship Director
United Health Services Southern California Medical Education Consortium, Emergency Medicine Residency Temecula, CA
01/2023 – Present
Associate Ultrasound Director Southwest Healthcare
Temecula Valley Hospital Temecula,
Temecula, CA
01/2025 – Present
Director of Digital education
FemInEM, Remote
2022 - 2026
Director of Ultrasound Leadership Academy (ULA)
Core Ultrasound, Remote
2023 - present
Associate Professor
Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine
Pomona, CA
2023 - present
Associate Professor
University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA
10/2021 – Present
Core Residency Faculty
United Health Services Southern California Medical Education Consortium, Emergency Medicine Residency Temecula, CA
04/2015 - 06/2017
Emergency Medicine Physician
Erlanger Baroness Emergency Department, Chattanooga, TN
04/2015 - 06/2017
Emergency Medicine Physician
Erlanger Bledsoe Emergency Department, Pikeville, TN
04/2015 - 06/2017
Emergency Medicine Physician
Erlanger Sequatchie Emergency Department, Dunlap, TN
04/2015 - 06/2016
Emergency Medicine Physician
Harrison Memorial Hospital, Cynthiana, KY
01/2023 – 07/2024
Director of Faculty Development
United Health Services Southern California Medical Education Consortium, Emergency Medicine Residency Temecula, CA
01/2022 – 07/2024
Co-Director of Vascular Access Team Southwest Healthcare
Temecula Valley Hospital Temecula,
Temecula, CA
07/2019 – 08/2021
Associate Professor
University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Department of Emergency Medicine, Lexington, KY
11/2018 – 08/2021
Medical Director of Point-Of-Care Ultrasound for UK Enterprise
Medical Director of Point-Of-Care Ultrasound for UK Enterprise
07/2017 – 08/2021
Ultrasound fellowship Director & Ultrasound Director, Department of Emergency Medicine
Department of Emergency Medicine
University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Department of Emergency Medicine Lexington, KY
07/2015 – 06/2016
Co-Ultrasound Director & Co-Ultrasound Fellowship Director
Department of Emergency Medicine Erlanger Baroness Hospital University of Tennessee College of Medicine. Chattanooga, TN
07/2014 – 06/2015
Chief Resident
Emergency Medicine Residency Erlanger College of Emergency Physicians
01/2014 – 01/2019
Chair, Social Media Task Force, Ultrasound Section
American College of Emergency Physicians
education
education
education
education
education
education
education
2024
The OpEd Project Writing course
2019
Society of Academic Medicine Advanced Research Methodology Evaluation and Design (ARMED) course
2018 - 2019
Academy of Medical Educators: Classroom Development Program.
University of Kentucky School of Medicine
2018
CCLA (Clinician Cultural and Linguistic Assessment) Spanish Certification
Harrison Memorial Hospital, Cynthiana, KY
2017
American College of Emergency Physicians Teaching Fellowship
2015 - 2016
fellowship
University of Kentucky, Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Fellowship
2015 - 2016
Residency
University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. Emergency Medicine
2008 - 2012
Medical school
Loma Linda University, School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA
2004 - 2008
undergraduate
Music B.A., Cum Laude. La Sierra University, Riverside, CA
2003 - 2004
Spanish Immersion Program. Universidad Del Rio De La Plata, Entre Rios, Argentina
Committees
Committees
Committees
Committees
Committees
Committees
Committees
06/2025 – Present
Board Member, California Chapter, American College of Emergency Physicians (Cal-ACEP)
03/2025 – Present
Women in Medicine – Power of Women in Medicine Summit™ Committee Member
03/2024 – Present
California ACEP Health Equity Committee Member
03/2024 – Present
California ACEP Conference Planning Committee Member
12/2023 – Present
CME Committee Member, Emergent Medical Associates. El Segundo, CA
07/2021 – Present
Clinical Competency Committee. Southwest Healthcare Medical Education Consortium, Emergency Medicine Residency. Temecula, CA
10/2018 – 09/2021
UK Enterprise Image Management Committee
10/2018 – 09/2021
UK Enterprise Point of Care Ultrasound Committee (Chair)
Lecture Topics
Lecture Topics
Lecture Topics
Lecture Topics
Lecture Topics
Lecture Topics
Lecture Topics Given
LGBTQIA+
Delivering Compassionate Care to Transgender Patients in the Emergency Department, How to Be Anti-Transphobic in the Workplace
Integrating Queer Health into your Residency (or GME) Curriculum
Queer Culture 101: 2SLGBTQA+ Culture Primer for Allies
Burns
Modern Management of Burns (Thermal, chemical, electrical)
Cardiology
Common Arrhythmias and How to Treat Them, Endocarditis, Ultrasound in Cardiac Arrest
Endocrine
Endocrine Emergencies, Thyroid Emergencies, DKA and HHS: Sugar Emergencies, Testosterone Primer
Gastrointestinal
GI Board Review, GI and Diarrheal Illness
Infectious Disease
Mycology and Parasitology, Modern Management of Sepsis
Pneumonia, Acute Meningitis and Lumbar Punctures
OB-GYN
Abdominal Pain in Pregnancy That is Not the Baby
First Trimester Pregnancy Bleeding Management
Ocular
Non-traumatic vision loss, Traumatic Vision loss
Orthopedics
Upper Extremity Orthopedic Injuries
Lower Extremity Orthopedic Injuries
Pediatrics
Pediatric Abdominal Emergencies
Orthopedics
Medical Causes of Psychiatric Illness
The Takedown (Calming the Agitated Patient)
How to Sleep Soundly after Discharging your Suicidal Patients from your ED
Radiology / Imaging
50+ unique ultrasound lectures (list available on request)
Common Radiology Myths. Basic Radiology for the Emergency Physician
Respiratory
Obstructive Airways Disease
Pneumothorax Diagnosis and Management
Acute Pulmonary Embolism
Teaching / Content
Creation
How to Give a Rockstar Lecture, Tools for teaching in the Digital Age
Slide Synergy, The Uber Literature Consumer
Dissemination Domination
Toxicology
Serotonin Syndrome and Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (and Mimics!)
APAP/ASA Toxicity
Trauma
Burnt and Blasted - How to Manage Common Injuries from a Galaxy Far, Far Away
Shock / Resus
Hemorrhagic Shock, Traumatic Shock, Volume Responsiveness
Resuscitation in Shock, How to Place Central Lines
The Difficult IV Access Patient
Wellbeing
Leveraging Technology to Reduce Burnout
Stoicism in the Emergency Department
INVITED LECTURES & TEACHING
INVITED LECTURES & TEACHING
INVITED LECTURES & TEACHING
international invited lectures
2026
Spain — Incrementum Conference, Murcia/Alicante (x3): Gamechanger Nerve Blocks; Tamponade Isn't Just a Clinical Diagnosis; Resuscitative Ultrasound (co-presented with Dr. Haney Mallemat)
2025
Australia (virtual) — Western Sydney Local Health District, NSW Health: Introduction to Nerve Blocks; ED Conference
2020
Colombia — Cartagena, Developing EM Conference (x5)
2019
Australia — Sydney, SMACC Conference; Ireland — Dublin (x2); Spain — Toledo, Conceptos 2019 (x2)
Ireland — Dublin (x2)
Spain — Toledo, Conceptos 2019 (x2)
2018
Mexico — Cabo San Lucas (x8)
Spain — Madrid, WINFOCUS Conference
2017
Mexico — Cabo San Lucas (x2)
Norway — Stavanger, Sonoscandinavia (x3)
Germany — Berlin, SMACC (x3)
Canada — Montreal, WCUME (x2)
2016
Sweden — Stockholm
Ireland — Dublin
2015
Cuba — Havana
Bahamas — Nassau
National Invited lectures (Summary)
2026
3 lectures – New York, Ny (x1), Stowe, Vt (x2)
2025
11 lectures – Cleveland, Oh (x1), Maui, Hi (x6), Chicago, Il (x2), Texas (virtual) (x1), Fresno, Ca (x2), SLC x3
2024
8 lectures — New Orleans, LA (x3); Las Vegas, NV (x3); Charlotte, NC (x1) [GLMA Annual Meeting]; Burlington, VT (x1) [UVM Grand Rounds]
2023
8 lectures — Philadelphia, PA (x6) [ACEP]; Nashville, TN (x2) [SEMPA]
2022
16 lectures — San Francisco, CA (x2); Rochester, NY (x3); Kauai, HI (x7); Maui, HI (x4)
2021
4 lectures — Boston, MA (x4) [ACEP]
2020
6 lectures — Stowe, VT (x2); Burlington, VT (x2); Chattanooga, TN (x2)
2019
23 lectures — Stowe, VT; Columbus, OH [SCUF]; Chicago, IL; Bend, OR; Sydney, Australia [SMACC]; Dublin, Ireland; and others
2018
29 lectures — Boston, MA; Salt Lake City, UT; Philadelphia, PA; Cleveland, OH; San Diego, CA; and others
2017
23 lectures — Orlando, FL; Jackson Hole, WY; Maui, HI; Carrabassett, ME; and others
publications
publications
publications
publications
publications
publications
PubMed indexed
(2024) Kessler D, Zhu M, Gregory CR, Mehanian C, Avila J, Avitable N, Coneybeare D, Das D, Dessie A, Kennedy TM, Rabiner J, Malia L, Ng L, Nye M, Vindas M, Weimersheimer P, Kulhare S, Millin R, Gregory K, Zheng X, Horning MP, Stone M, Wang F, Lancioni C. Development and testing of a deep learning algorithm to detect lung consolidation among children with pneumonia using hand-held ultrasound. PLoS One. 2024 Aug 27;19(8):e0309109. PMID: 39190686
(2022) Alerhand S, Adrian RJ, Long B, Avila J. Pericardial tamponade: A comprehensive emergency medicine and echocardiography review. Am J Emerg Med. 2022 Aug;58:159-174. PMID: 35696801.
(2021) Avila J, Long B, Holladay D, Gottlieb M. Thrombotic complications of COVID-19. Am J Emerg Med. 2021 Jan;39:213-218. PMID: 33036855
(2020) Gottlieb M, Avila J, Chottiner M, Peksa GD. Point-of-Care Ultrasonography for the Diagnosis of Skin and Soft Tissue Abscesses: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Ann Emerg Med. 2020 Jul;76(1):67-77. PMID: 32081383.
(2020) Tucker RV, Peterson WJ, Mink JT, Taylor LA, Leech SJ, Nagdev AD, Leo M, Liu R, Stolz LA, Kessler R, Boulger CT, Situ-LaCasse EH, Avila JO, Huang R. Defining an Ultrasound-guided Regional Anesthesia Curriculum for Emergency Medicine. AEM Educ Train. 2020 Dec 11;5(3):e10557 PMID: 34124505;
(2020) Higgins JT, Frazier SK, Lennie T, Rayens MK, Avila J. Early Ambulation After Injury Is Associated With Increased Muscle Size and Strength. Biol Res Nurs. 2020 Oct;22(4):527-535. PMID: 32551886.
(2018) Avila J, Smith B, Mead T, Jurma D, Dawson M, Mallin M, Dugan A. Does the Addition of M-Mode to B-Mode Ultrasound Increase the Accuracy of Identification of Lung Sliding in Traumatic Pneumothoraces? J Ultrasound Med. 2018 Nov;37(11):2681-2687 PMID: 29689594.
(2016) Smith BC 3rd, Avila J. M.mode.ify: A Free Online Tool to Generate Post Hoc M-Mode Images From Any Ultrasound Clip. J Ultrasound Med. 2016 Feb;35(2):435-9. PMID: 26764277.
(2015) Avila JO, Noble VE. The irregular diaphragmatic pleural interface: a novel sonographic sign facilitating the diagnosis of pneumonia. J Ultrasound Med. 2015 Jun;34(6):1147-57. PMID: 26014336.
(2014) Avila JO, Smith BC, Seaberg DC. Use of echocardiography to identify appropriate placement of a central venous catheter wire in the vena cava prior to cannulation. Acad Emerg Med. 2014 Aug;21(8):E1-2. PMID: 25156809.
Academic conference posters
Fernberg T, Avila J, Macias M. Point-of-Care Ultrasound Utilization Benchmarks in Community Emergency Medicine. In: (2024), SAEM24 Abstracts. Acad Emerg Med, Suppl 1:8-401. https://doi-org.proxy.westernu.edu/10.1111/acem.14906 [Lightning Oral Presentation Session]
Multiple Authors. Contrastive Self-Supervised Learning for Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Lung Ultrasound Videos. In 2023 IEEE 20th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI), Cartagena, Colombia, 2023
Multiple Authors. Development and Implementation of a Regional Ultrasound Consortium. American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) Scientific Assembly, ePoster, New York City, NY, 2018
Jurma D, Avila J Does the Addition of M-mode Increase Diagnostic Accuracy of Ultrasound in the Evaluation of Pneumothorax? Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Scientific Assembly, ePoster, Orlando, FL, 2017.
Textbook chapters
Moore C, Avila J, Combs JW (2021). Ultrasound for Abdomen and FAST: Evolution and Diagnosis, In: Li, J., Chow, R. M., Vadivelu, N., & Kaye, A. D. (n.d.). Ultrasound Fundamentals: An Evidence- Based Guide for Medical Practitioners. Springer.
Avila J, Huang C, Noble V. (2020). “Thoracic Ultrasound” In: Emergency and Clinical Ultrasound Board Review (Medical Specialty Board Review) 1st Edition New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 15
Avila J. (2018). How to Scan: Pneumoperitoneum and Small Bowel Obstruction, In: Practical Guide to Critical Ultrasound, Volume 1. [eBook] RE Lewiss, RJ Strony, RA Jones [editors] American College of Emergency Physicians Chapter 1.1
Avila J. (2018). How to Scan: Ocular, In: Practical Guide to Critical Ultrasound, Volume 1. [eBook] RE Lewiss, RJ Strony, RA Jones [editors] American College of Emergency Physicians Chapter 1.4
Avila J. (2018). How to Scan: Venous Compression, In: Practical Guide to Critical Ultrasound, Volume 1. [eBook] RE Lewiss, RJ Strony, RA Jones [editors] American College of Emergency Physicians Chapter 1.5
Avila J. Shock, In: CURRENT Diagnosis and Treatment Emergency Medicine. (8th ed). CK Stone,
Multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia
Web Publications & Online Media
EMRAP (Emergency Medicine Reviews and Perspectives) Publications / Videos
July 2025: Ultrasound of Central Retinal Artery Occlusion
July 2025: Ultrasound Diagnosis of Papilledema
May 2025: E-FAST Exam
11/2024: Medical Legal Briefs: Butterfly or Fall? Medical-legal Implications of Personal US
12/2021: Ultrasound in Cardiac Arrest
05/2021: What is Tamponade?
01/2021: Ultrasound Guided IV’s
05/2020: RV Dilation in Cardiac Arrest
03/2020: Lung Ultrasound and COVID-19
09/2019: DVT: A Practical, Rapid Review
Core Ultrasound — YouTube & Podcast (selected recent content)
09/23/2025: How to Thrive in an EM Residency and a POCUS Fellowship (with Dr. Sophia Fornbacher)
08/11/2025: POCUS for Shock — New Critical Care Ultrasound Evidence & Course Updates
05/20/2025: Ultrasound Without Experts? How AI and Tele-Guidance Are Stepping In (Pt. 1, with Dr. Mike Prats)
05/1/2025: Thoracic Aortic Emergencies on Ultrasound: Recognizing Aneurysms and Dissections
FemInEM — Second Shift Change Podcast (Co-Host/Creator)
10/27/2025: Ep. 5 - Advancing Contraception Access from the Emergency Room (with Drs. Morgan Bowling & Sabena Vaswani)
09/23/2025: Ep. 4 - Embracing Authenticity in Medicine and Advocacy (with Dr. Jess Adkins)
08/18/2025 - Ep. 3 - Wellbeing and Workplace Strategies (with Drs. Andrea Austin & Jenny Castillo Cato)
07/30/2025: Ep. 2 - On the Ground in Texas: Improving Care in Restrictive States (with Drs. Lauren Fine & Priya Ghelani)
07/15/2025: Ep. 1 - Why We're Here: The Story Behind Second Shift Change (with Drs. Rebecca Hellmann & Dara Kass)
Numerous examples. Details are available upon request.