Dr. Michael Macias

Education

Dr. Michael Macias is an Emergency Medicine physician and ultrasound expert based in San Diego, California. He completed his medical degree and Emergency Medicine residency at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois, followed by an advanced emergency ultrasound fellowship at the University of California, San Diego.

Current Roles and Responsibilities

Currently, Dr. Macias practices at Temecula Valley Hospital, where he serves as the Clinical Ultrasound Director for all residency programs at Southwest Healthcare MEC. In addition, he holds the positions of Associate Medical Director for the Emergency Department and Co-Fellowship Director for the Advanced Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship Program. Administratively, he is the Global Clinical Ultrasound Director for Emergent Medical Associates, overseeing clinical ultrasound programs across 22 hospitals.

Leadership in Ultrasound Utilization

Under Dr. Macias's leadership, ultrasound utilization in his group has increased by over 400% across more than 20 community hospitals in Southern California and Maui. He has developed standardized point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) program benchmarks to streamline ultrasound workflows and enhance imaging capabilities across all sites. His focus has been tailoring POCUS workflow solutions to site needs and constraints, including PACS integration, middleware solutions, and the incorporation of handheld ultrasound devices. To support the development of robust ultrasound programs, he has designed comprehensive toolkits for standardization of processes related to ultrasound procedures and program development.

Contributions to Education and Innovation

Beyond his administrative achievements, Dr. Macias is a renowned educator and digital innovator. He has created multiple free open-access medical education (FOAMed) platforms, including The POCUS Atlas, The NUEM Blog, UCSD Ultrasound, and EM Curious. His work on The POCUS Atlas earned him the Innovation Award in 2018 from the ACEP Emergency Ultrasound Section. Dr. Macias has also contributed to several mobile applications, including The Evidence Atlas App, The POCUS Atlas App, and The Nerve Block App, advancing how clinicians access ultrasound knowledge in practice.

Research

Dr. Macias’s research spans several key areas, including ultrasound utilization patterns in community emergency department settings, quality improvement, and cost/resource utilization in conditions such as pulmonary embolism and brain injury. He is also deeply committed to optimizing feedback mechanisms within emergency medicine residency programs and is actively exploring the use of artificial intelligence to enhance actionable feedback for trainees. Furthermore, Dr. Macias has a strong interest in ultrasound-guided nerve blocks in the emergency department and his site is part of the National Ultrasound-Guided Nerve (NURVE) Block Registry dedicated to studying the safety and efficacy of nerve blocks performed by emergency physicians.

Areas of Interest

Dr. Macias’s interests encompass design thinking, productivity automation, regional anesthesia, and emergency cardiology. These reflect his commitment to integrating technology and innovative solutions into medical practice.

Personal Life

Outside of his professional endeavors, Dr. Macias enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children, along with running marathons.

Dr. Jailyn Avila

Dr. Jailyn Avila is a world-renowned educator whose expertise has taken her across the globe. She previously worked for just under two years as the Vice President of Education for Butterfly Network Inc. Dr. Avila has previously served as the co-Ultrasound Director and Ultrasound Fellowship Director at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga Department of Emergency Medicine, and was the Ultrasound Director for the medical school, emergency department, and all of the inpatient and outpatient POCUS programs for the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. Since 2017, she has delivered over 350 lectures internationally, nationally, and locally, inspiring thousands of medical professionals.

As the co-creator of Core Ultrasound, Dr. Avila is at the forefront of online ultrasound education. Her YouTube channel, with over 20,000 subscribers, reaches audiences worldwide, making ultrasound education more accessible than ever. Through Core Ultrasound Courses, she provides online learning solutions to over 200 residencies across the U.S. and internationally, including 25% of all emergency medicine residencies in the United States.