Sara Damewood, MD, a longtime national leader in point-of-care ultrasound, has been named president-elect of the Society of Clinical Ultrasound Fellowships.
SCUF supports more than 150 fellowship programs across the United States and Canada that train physicians in Advanced Emergency Medicine Ultrasonography, or AEMUS.
Damewood, who is a professor of emergency medicine, vice chair of education and chief of the Division of Emergency Ultrasound in the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, will become SCUF president at the society’s annual meeting in fall 2027.
“Dr. Damewood is a visionary, deeply committed, and exceptionally talented educator and leader,” said Hamid Shokoohi, MD, MPH, SCUF president. “Her passion for teaching, mentorship and building strong programs has influenced countless learners and colleagues throughout her career. SCUF will benefit tremendously from her leadership, energy and vision.”
Damewood has dedicated much of her career to advancing point-of-care ultrasound education and practice, including helping to set national standards for fellowship education. As president-elect, she said she wants to support the next generation of ultrasound leaders through new educational webinars, greater resident involvement and improved tools for assessing fellow competency.
Through her work with SCUF over the last decade, Damewood has helped establish consistent standards for AEMUS fellowship training. She co-chaired the organization’s Program Requirement Committee and served on a national workgroup focused on ultrasound competency assessment. She also spent more than five years helping lead planning for SCUF’s annual meeting, including hosting the 2022 conference in Madison.
SCUF describes its annual meeting as the largest U.S. cross-specialty gathering focused exclusively on clinically performed ultrasound. Nearly 400 people attended the 2026 meeting, held Sept. 15-17 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where Damewood delivered the keynote address.
“I’m proud to have contributed to past annual meeting planning committees and helped shape the engaging conference it has become,” Damewood said. “It’s an honor to serve as a leader for an organization I’ve admired and been a part of for years.”
Damewood received SCUF’s Hidden Figures Award in 2019 and Shazam Award in 2020 in recognition of her service to the organization.
Her influence on fellowship training extends beyond SCUF to the national oversight of AEMUS programs. Damewood served as the founding chair of the Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship Accreditation Council, or EUFAC, which designates accreditation for AEMUS fellowship programs. In that role, she helped build the processes and infrastructure used in assessment of AEMUS fellowship programs nationwide.
Damewood has brought that same commitment to UW–Madison. After joining the emergency medicine faculty in 2012, she founded the department’s Emergency Ultrasound Section and helped build the clinical infrastructure for point-of-care ultrasound, including faculty credentialing, quality assurance and documentation. She also established the UW’s Advanced Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Fellowship, which she directed from 2015 to 2024. She now oversees the department’s broader education mission while continuing to lead its Division of Emergency Ultrasound.