New Dalhousie ultrasound clinic targets staffing shortages and long waitlist
CBC
People waiting for an ultrasound in the Halifax area might be receiving a call to go to a new student-run clinic through Dalhousie University's School of Health Sciences.
The clinic has quietly been seeing patients from Nova Scotia Health's waitlist since October, but it officially opened on Tuesday.
"So far, patients have been interested in learning about ultrasounds, so they're really learning along with the students," said Jennifer Kressebuch, an instructor with the program.
The idea for the clinic was inspired by a similar program in British Columbia, and works to help two challenges facing sonography in the province: staffing shortages and long waitlists.
Pamela Goulden describes the need for sonographers in Nova Scotia as "massive." She works alongside Kressebuch at the School of Health Sciences.
"I don't think there's any department in the province that wouldn't look to hire students that are graduating," said Goulden.
Three years ago, Dalhousie doubled the class cohort to train 16 students a year. But those students need on-the-job experience to graduate, and the health-care system doesn't have room for them all.
So the school came up with the solution of the clinic. The instructors supervise the students, who work on real patients from Nova Scotia Health's waitlist.
According to the province's posted wait times, some patients in the Halifax area can wait as long as a year for their appointment.
"It really is helpful for the students because then they get the hands-on time with a patient but also hands-on time with an instructor who can guide them through how to obtain more challenging views," said Kressebuch.
"It's certainly different scanning a real-life patient who can have pathologies and other things like that compared to scanning their classmates and labs."
The clinic is not accepting calls for appointments or walk-ins. Instead, it will be calling patients from the Nova Scotia Health waitlist who have cases that fit the learning modules from each semester.
The hours will also vary, depending on where students are in their education — at times operating just once a week and up to five days a week later in the term.
Students take their time, sometimes working with a patient for an hour, to make sure they're getting it right.
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