Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Why should I take a procedural medicine course?
  2. How do I choose a hospital procedures course?
  3. Why are HPC courses superior to its competitors?
  4. Why are HPC courses now only one day instead of two day courses?
  5. Is it possible to attend a full weekend course to get extra hands-on procedural training?
  6. What is simulation-based training?
  7. Upon completion of the HPC course will I be able to perform procedures independently?
  8. Which procedures are included in the course?
  9. How much time in the course is devoted to hands on training?
  10. Does Hospital Procedures Consultants offer continuing medical education?
  11. How do I register for a course?
  12. What is the difference between the Saturday and Sunday course?
  13. What if the course I am interested in is full?
  14. Do you offer training for other procedures?
  15. What are your hours of operation?
  16. How do I access the Education Section and how can I access the videos I have purchased?
  17. How do I access the Online CME course (the lectures and videos associated with the live CME course)?
  18. Why can’t I launch the Online CME course after registering?
  19. What do I do if I forgot my HPC account password?
  20. Why can’t I access my HPC account?
  21. Where can I see the Welcome letter for my live CME course for transportation directions and important hotel reservation information?
  22. How do I get a copy of my CME certificate?
  23. Do I get more CME credit for the Weekend course compared with a single day course?
  24. Can I receive a refund if I register for the weekend course and decide to not attend the Sunday session?
  25. If I leave the course early, can I obtain full CME credit?
  26. Do you provide meals at your live CME courses?
  27. Does my tuition include my hotel room or travel expenses?
  28. I registered late. Can I still obtain the discounted hotel room rates?
  29. How does HPC keep the live CME courses as safe as possible?

1. Why should I take a procedural medicine course?

Completing a comprehensive course in procedural medicine offers several benefits.  Studies show that simulation based training improves procedural safety and efficiency.  You will have increased satisfaction and self-confidence in performing procedures with a thorough understanding of the indications, contraindications, techniques and common complications.  This is especially true in emergency and high-risk situations.  Also, surveys show that patients appreciate the continuity of having procedures performed by their treating health care provider.   Finally, adding procedural medicine to your practice can increase income by up to 30%.  See our billing page for details!

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2. How do I choose a hospital procedures course?

We believe procedural medicine should be taught by experts who use a multifaceted approach.  Our instructors have over 50 years of experience teaching procedural medicine at national courses where we have trained over 4,000 clinicians how to safely perform hospital procedures.  Our course satisfaction rating based on course evaluations average a score of 4.8 out of 5 in all categories.  In addition, most of our students feel comfortable performing these procedures INDEPENDENTLY within 3 months of our procedural training based on our post-course surveys .  We are also busy practitioners working in the emergency department, hospital wards and intensive care unit where we teach all these procedures to resident physicians and medical students on a weekly basis.  HPC courses provide online didactic instruction via 17 online modules containing all of our live lectures and can be viewed from the comfort of your home for a full 12 months! Then, you will attend a 10 hour session devoted exclusively to hands-on procedural training using advanced medical simulators taught by six instructors (student-to-faculty ratio is 6:1).  Our instructors are not just expert proceduralists but have also won numerous awards for their teaching accomplishments.

In addition, our hospital and emergency procedures courses qualify for 16 hours of Trauma CME credit and can fulfill all 30 hours of emergency procedures CME needed for Emergency Nurse Practitioner certification.  Our courses can also fulfill the emergency procedures training in airway management and bedside procedures needed to obtain the certificate of added qualification in emergency medicine for physician assistants.

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3. Why are HPC courses superior to its competitors?

HPC Courses provide the following for its students:

  • Improves your procedural competence
  • Boosts your self-confidence
  • Provides a positive learning environment that fosters success
  • Eliminates your fear about procedure-related law suits
  • CME courses that save lives
  • Provides customized hands-on training
  • Six procedural expert instructors at each course
  • Low student-to-faculty ratios
  • Online lectures and videos available anytime/anywhere

What you get with the Hospitalist and Emergency Procedures Course

  • 12 Month access to Online Hospitalist and Emergency Procedures Course Lectures
  • 12 Month access to HPC Procedure Video Bundle – 27 Full-length narrated videos with step-by-step instruction
  • 12 Month access to Instructional procedure skills lab posters
  • Introduction to ultrasound pamphlet
  • Airway management pamphlet
  • Indefinite access to all our lectures
  • Free critical care and emergency drug reference card
  • 100% customized hands-on skills lab instruction for 10 hours

WHY CHOOSE HPC?

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4. Why are HPC courses now only one day instead of two day courses?

HPC now offers our course didactics (lectures and procedural videos) as an online course which students complete at their convenience and in the comfort of their own homes prior to attending a one-day 10 hour hands-on procedural skills-lab course.  Previously, our two day courses contained about 8.5 hours of lecture time and 8.5 hours of hands-on skills lab time.  Now, our one day simulation-based procedural training course offers 10.0 hours of hands-on skills lab training (1.5 extra hours!).  We do offer a weekend course as well for those students who want twice the amount of hands-on training in these procedures and extra discussion about the nuances of procedures (e.g., how to choose a particular procedural sedation regimen, how to choose which induction agent to use for intubations, when you need to administer blood products before procedures to minimize bleed risk, etc.).  In addition, the two-day course will train students in cricothyroidotomy. This one-day course provides up to 10.0 hours of CME credit whereas the weekend course provides up to 20.0 hours of CME credit.

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5. Is it possible to attend a full weekend course to get extra hands-on procedural training?

Yes. HPC offers an full weekend course.  Students can spend TWO full days training in the 20 most common hospital procedures performed in the ER, ICU, and hospital wards.  In addition, the extended weekend course offers up to 20.0 hours of CME credit.  

THE WEEKEND HOSPITALIST AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES COURSE

The weekend course builds on the information in the lectures to solidify the cognitive aspect of bedside procedures and will continue to hone your procedural technique.  Weekend students are put through multiple case scenarios on Sunday to solidify their procedural knowledge in fluid analysis, complication diagnosis and management, and the nuances of hospital procedures in the clinical context (e.g., how to choose an induction agent for intubation, how to choose a procedural sedation regimen, review of the difficult airway management algorithm, how to manage an inadvertent central arterial line placement, how to use point-of-care ultrasound to assess the etiology of shock, etc.).  The procedural skills labs in the weekend course are the same on both Saturday and Sunday, except for the addition of cricothyroidotomy, but weekend students are also providedadditional customized instruction in the procedures most essential for them to learn. Weekend students are also run through simulated proctoring for each procedure on Sunday with procedure checklists to prepare you for the proctoring process you will need to undergo at your respective hospital.  Weekend students will also receive a difficult airway algorithm and our course cases handouts.Our goal is to have all students fully independent in all procedures such that by the course end we are proctoring your ability to independently perform each procedure!

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6. What is simulation-based training?

Simulation-based procedural training is unequivocally the best and safest method to learn medical procedures.  Simulation-based training involves practicing the procedure on an advanced life-like simulator (or manikin).  This training utilizes the same equipment and procedural kits used in most U.S. hospitals.

Simulation training allows students to repeat the procedure over and over under the tutelage of a procedural expert instructor so that you develop muscle memory that can be translated to a real-life patient.

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7. Upon completion of the HPC course will I be able to perform procedures independently?

Based on our post-course evaluations from over 6,000 prior students, most of our students feel prepared to perform these procedures independently within 3 months of the completion of our Hospitalist and Emergency Procedures course.

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9. How much time in the course is devoted to hands on training?

100% of course time is spent at hands-on procedural skills lab stationsDuring these 10.0 hours, participants have the opportunity to perform procedures under the supervision of at least SIX expert instructors.  Each participant will have enough time to repeat each procedure multiple times in order to achieve confidence in their abilities.

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10. Does Hospital Procedures Consultants offer continuing medical education?

CREDIT DESIGNATION STATEMENTS

The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this live one-day activity for a maximum of 10.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this live two-day activity for a maximum of 20.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material activity for a maximum of 11.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This Live activity, Hospitalist and Emergency Procedures Course, has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 10.0 Prescribed credit(s) by the American Academy of Family Physicians.   Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.

This Enduring Material activity, Hospitalist and Emergency Procedures Course, has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 11.50 Prescribed credit(s) by the American Academy of Family Physicians.  Term of approval begins 01/01/2016.  Term of approval is for one year from this date.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This Live activity, Hospitalist and Emergency Procedures Course is approved for 10.0 contact hour(s) of continuing education by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.  Program ID 18113443.  This program was planned in accordance with AANP CE Standards and Policies and AANP Commercial Support Standards.

This Live activity, Hospitalist and Emergency Procedures Course is approved by the American College of Emergency Physicians for a maximum of 10.0 hour(s) of ACEP Category I credit.

Members of the College of Family Physicians of Canada are eligible to receive up to 10.0 hours of MAINPRO-M1 credit for attendance at these courses due to a reciprocal agreement with the American Academy of Family Physicians.

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11. How do I register for a course?

There are three ways to register for an upcoming course: 1) directly on our website using our secure checkout process;  2) by mail:  print our registration form and mail with payment to Hospital Procedures Consultants 2646 Palma Drive, Ste 275, Ventura, CA 93003;  3)  call us directly at (805) 339-0225; fax your registration form to (805) 339-0375.

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12. What is the difference between the Saturday and Sunday course?

There is no difference between the Saturday and Sunday courses.  Every registered student gains access to an online CME course that contains all of the course lectures and embedded procedural videos that should be viewed and completed in advance of the live CME course.  The live CME courses provide 100% hands-on skills lab training in all of the procedures that we teach.  We offer the same live CME course on both Saturday and Sunday.

The weekend course is an opportunity for students to gain twice the amount of procedural skills lab time if desired; however, the procedural skills labs are EXACTLY THE SAME on both Saturday and Sunday.  In addition, the weekend course provides 10 MORE hours of CME credit compared to the one-day courses.

THE WEEKEND HOSPITALIST AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES COURSE

The weekend course builds on the information in the lectures to solidify the cognitive aspect of bedside procedures and will continue to hone your procedural technique.  Weekend students are put through multiple case scenarios on Sunday to solidify their procedural knowledge in fluid analysis, diagnosis and management of complications, and the nuances of hospital procedures in the clinical context (e.g., how to choose an induction agent for intubation, how to choose a procedural sedation regimen, review of the difficult airway management algorithm, how to manage an inadvertent central arterial line placement, how to use point-of-care ultrasound to assess the etiology of shock, etc.).  The procedural skills labs in the weekend course are the same on both Saturday and Sunday, except for the addition of cricothyroidotomy, fiberoptic intubation and ultrasound-guided pericardiocentesis, but weekend students are also provided additional customized instruction in the procedures most essential for them to learn. Weekend students are also run through simulated proctoring for each procedure on Sunday with procedure checklists to prepare you for the proctoring process you will need to undergo at your respective hospital.  Weekend students will also receive a difficult airway algorithm and our course cases handouts.  Our goal is to have all students fully independent in all procedures such that by the course end we are proctoring your ability to independently perform each procedure!

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13. What if the course I am interested in is full?

Our courses fill early but we offer eight courses per year at various locations across the country.  CLICK HERE to find all of our upcoming courses.  We have occasional cancellations and keep a waiting list at our home office.  Call (805) 339-0225 or email us at [email protected] to have your name placed on the waiting list.

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14. Do you offer training for other procedures?

Currently we focus on those procedures most commonly performed by emergency and hospital-based health care providers.  However, we do adjust our curriculum in response to feedback from course participants and may expand our offerings in the future.  Also, we offer a variety of procedural resources for our members through our website including evidence based procedural articles, safety guidelines, videos, downloadable procedure notes and procedural checklists. Visit us at hospitalprocedures.org for free access to these features and to view updates to our course curriculum.

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15. What are your hours of operation?

Our office is open from 9 AM- 4 PM Monday-Friday (PST).  If you call us after hours, we will return your call the next business day.  If you have an urgent question, please email us at [email protected] and we will answer your question as soon as possible.  We check our email messages several times a day.

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16. How do I access your Education Section and how can I access the videos I have purchased?

Go to www.hospitalprocedures.org and please “Login” to your account, then click on “Account” and then visit “My Resources” to find the Education Section and all purchased videos

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17. How do I access the Online CME course (the lectures and videos associated with the live CME course)?

CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS TO ACCESS HPC ACCOUNT AND ONLINE CME COURSE AND OTHER RESOURCES

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18. Why can’t I launch the Online CME course after registering?

The System Requirements are:  To participate, you will need access to a computer (either MAC or PC), tablet, or smart phone, with a Chrome Firefox or Safari web browsers installed and updated.  The devices should be JavaScript enabled, cookies enabled and connected to the Internet (high speed connection preferred).  If you are having difficulty accessing the Online course, please try switching to a different web browser like Google Chrome and reattempt to login.

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19. What do I do if I forgot my HPC account password?

Click “Account / Login” at the top of the website page and you will see an option to click “forgot your password”.  Click that link and it will allow you to enter the email address that you used to register for your account and a link to reset your password will be sent to that email address.

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20. Why can’t I access my HPC account?

2.  “Account / Login” at the top of the page using your email that you used to register for your account and your unique password (case-specific); if you forgot your password click on the option to reset your password.
3.  Go to “My Account”
5.  You should see access to all your tabs, including any courses purchased, any videos purchased, education tab, company policies, etc.

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21. Where can I see the Welcome letter for my live CME course for transportation directions and important hotel reservation information?

You should have received an email confirmation and reminders after registering for the course.  If you cannot find those emails, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 805-339-0225 and we can resend them to you.

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22. How do I get a copy of my CME certificate?

 How to obtain your CME certificate for the ONLINE CME course:

  • Go to www.cmeuniversity.com to complete your evaluation and print your own certificates of completion!
  • On the main page, under the Member Login section located on the left hand side of the screen, click on the link “Create New Account.”  You will be directed to a new page.
  • Under the section labeled “New Users,” please type in your email and a desired password and click on the button “Create Account.”  You will be asked to set up your profile on this next screen.
  • Once your profile is complete and you have clicked the “Save” button at the bottom of the screen, on the left-hand side is a section labeled Course Links, click on “Find Post-test/Evaluation by Course” and search for the course 12967.
  • Please select the type of credit you are seeking and then please click on the session(s) that you want to claim for credit.  You must complete an evaluation for each session you are claiming credit.  Upon successfully completing the activity evaluation, your certificate will be made available immediately.

Tip: If you do not receive the email(s), please check your spam file.  You will receive your certificate from [email protected]

How to obtain your CME certificate for the LIVE CME course

  • Go to www.cmeuniversity.com to complete your evaluation and print your own certificates of completion!
  • On the main page, under the Member Login section located on the left hand side of the screen, click on the link “Create New Account.”  You will be directed to a new page.
  • Under the section labeled “New Users,” please type in your email and a desired password and click on the button “Create Account.”  You will be asked to set up your profile on this next screen.
  • Once your profile is complete and you have clicked the “Save” button at the bottom of the screen, on the left-hand side is a section labeled Course Links, click on “Find Post-test/Evaluation by Course” and search for the course ID 
  • Please select the type of credit you are seeking and then please click on the session(s) that you want to claim for credit.  You must complete an evaluation for each session you are claiming credit.  Upon successfully completing the activity evaluation, your certificate will be made available immediately.
  • Please contact our office at [email protected] to obtain the course ID number

Tip: If you do not receive the email(s), please check your spam file.  You will receive your certificate from [email protected]
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23. Do I get more CME credit for the Weekend course compared with a single day course?

Yes.  The weekend live CME courses are certified for up to 20.0 hours CME credit.  This is 10 more hours of CME credit than the one-day courses.

In addition, the Weekend course provides twice as much hands-on procedural skills lab training and the weekend course builds on the information in the lectures to solidify the cognitive aspect of bedside procedures and will continue to hone your procedural technique.  Weekend students are put through multiple case scenarios on Sunday to solidify their procedural knowledge in fluid analysis, complication diagnosis and management, and the nuances of hospital procedures in the clinical context (e.g., how to choose an induction agent for intubation, how to choose a procedural sedation regimen, review of the difficult airway management algorithm, how to manage an inadvertent central arterial line placement, how to use point-of-care ultrasound to assess the etiology of shock, etc.).  The procedural skills labs in the weekend course are the same on both Saturday and Sunday, except for the addition of cricothyroidotomy, but weekend students are also provided additional customized instruction in the procedures most essential for them to learn.   In addition, weekend students will receive a difficult airway algorithm and our course cases handouts.   Our goal is to have all students fully independent in all procedures such that by the course end we are proctoring your ability to independently perform each procedure

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24. Can I receive a refund if I register for the weekend course and decide to not attend the Sunday session?

No.  Unfortunately, we can not issue you a refund or credit towards a future course if you choose to leave the course early after registering for a weekend course.  We have reserved a spot for you to attend each day’s live CME training which precludes other interested students from registering for that spot.

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25. If I leave the course early, can I obtain full CME credit?

You are eligible for up to 10.0 hours CME credit for the live one-day CME course and up to 20.0 hours CME credit for the two-day live CME course.  If you leave early, you are entitled to the hours of training for which you attended and NOT the entire possible CME credit.

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26. Do you provide meals at your live CME courses?

Yes.  We provide a gourmet breakfast, lunch, and a break for all registered students.  We can NOT provide meals for the families or friends of our students.

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27. Does my tuition include my hotel room or travel expenses?

No. Your course tuition includes access to our online CME course, our live hands-on training session, gourmet meals for the day and our free gifts (Tarascon Medical Procedures Pocketbook and a 2 GB memory stick preloaded with all lectures and procedural articles). The course tuition does NOT include your hotel room, airfare, or shuttle/taxi expenses.

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28. I registered late. Can I still obtain the discounted hotel room rates?

In general, we have a contracted hotel room block that expires 3 weeks prior to the start of a course. We are only able to guarantee discounted hotel room rates in our room block until 3 weeks prior to the start of a course. We are unable to guarantee discounted hotel room rates within 3 weeks of the start of a course.

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29. How Does HPC Keep the Live CME Courses as Safe as Possible?

HPC does all of the following to keep its live Hospitalist and Emergency Procedures Courses as safe as possible:

  • All students, instructors and staff are required to be fully vaccinated (at least two shots) or show a negative COVID-19 PCR test performed within 72 hours of the onset of a course
  • All students and staff are required to wear masks during the entirety of the course
  • HPC provides gloves, goggles and hand sanitizer to all students
  • HPC staff sanitizes all equipment between each course session

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