About
The Hands-On Ultrasound Education (HOUSE) Program gives rural physicians the training and confidence to integrate point-of-care ultrasound into their practice. HOUSE was specifically designed to meet the unique needs of rural physicians. By providing education that is customized for each community, the program meets the needs of learners with a wide range of pre-existing skills. HOUSE delivers learning in a relaxed and fun environment, with a high instructor to student ratio, to maximize hands-on practice time.
The HOUSE program was developed and is operated by the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Division of Continuing Professional Development (UBC CPD) in partnership with the Rural Coordination Centre of BC within the UBC Rural CPD program. Funding for the HOUSE program was provided by the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues, a joint committee of the Doctors of BC and BC Ministry of Health.
Redefined
HOUSE has redefined ultrasound education. This program has transformed standardized ultrasound training into a unique educational program designed specifically for rural physicians. Flexible in terms of scale and content, the program can accommodate communities of different sizes and is tailored to the specific needs of each learner. In addition, the curriculum employs clinical scenarios to teach how to incorporate the newly acquired ultrasound skills into patient care.
Hands On
HOUSE makes hands-on learning a priority. By maximizing the time spent at the bedside practicing hands-on skills, the program prioritizes skill acquisition, which is generally difficult to access in rural settings. The instructor to student ratio and course setup maximizes the hands-on time for an unprecedented amount of probe time.
Safe and Confident
HOUSE does more than teach rural physicians how to perform ultrasound; it also teaches practitioners to use it safely and with confidence. As a powerful resource that can significantly improve patient care, all physicians need to know how to use ultrasound. We believe that you can safely incorporate this tool into your practice, even if you are a beginner. We also show you how to be assured that the pitfalls of POCUS do not lead you astray.
Fun
The HOUSE learning environment is fun, friendly and collegial. The structure of the day is informal, flexible, down to earth and practical. HOUSE provides a safe and collaborative opportunity for learning. Our instructors include rural physicians who understand the specific needs of rural practitioners.
Easy
We do the work of course organization for you. We make it easy for rural communities to host the program. By taking on as much of the planning work as we can, the local physicians are not burdened with the workload of planning typically associated with running other courses.
Affordable
HOUSE offers exceptional value. Our primary aim is to improve ultrasound skills amongst rural physicians, so we run our courses on a cost recovery basis. No other course in Canada offers all the advantages of HOUSE, and at such a low price.
Community
HOUSE supports ongoing skill acquisition after visiting a community. We are currently developing some other innovative educational opportunities for HOUSE participants. These include real time virtual education offerings, curated educational resources that meet the needs of rural docs, and networking opportunities for rural physicians to link up with each other, and provincial POCUS resources.
WHERE WE’VE BEEN
