Effective communication with patients and families is the foundation for a therapeutic, safe, and positive patient experience. The patient‘s experience of care is greatly influenced by what is communicated and observed. It is also a vital component of obtaining an accurate history and physical assessment, providing informed, comprehensive care, and educating patients and families to achieve optimal outcomes. The goal of this course is to provide information about how to effectively communicate with patients in healthcare settings.

Within healthcare, a patient with limited English proficiency (LEP) is an individual whose primary means of communication is not English and who has a limited command of the language in reading, writing, speaking, or understanding (Office for Civil Rights, 2016). These patients need the careful attention of healthcare personnel to ensure the safety and quality of care. Healthcare professionals should understand regulations and standards related to patients with LEP, such as the use of an interpreter for communication.

The goal of this educational program is to improve the ability of the healthcare team to provide quality care and better outcomes for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP).

Listening skills are an often-undeveloped component of effective communication. Leaders and managers with strong listening skills build more productive and engaged teams with increased effectiveness. In this course, you will learn how managers and leaders can listen actively to build stronger teams and increase their impact. You will also learn the importance of establishing common ground and practicing empathy as you apply the techniques for becoming a better listener.

The goal of this course is to provide managers and leaders with the awareness and skills to be effective communicators.

You have probably heard about an “IQ” score that measures intelligence, but have you ever heard of “emotional intelligence” or EQ? Emotional intelligence is your ability to understand, express, and manage your emotions, as well as your insight into what the people around you are feeling. EQ can add to your quality of life and contribute to career success. In this course, you’ll learn about developing emotional awareness, which is the foundation of emotional intelligence.

Healthcare professionals in acute care settings frequently observe how lifestyle-related choices contribute to health crises and reduced quality of life for their patients. Changing behaviors, such as taking a new medication, quitting smoking, or eating healthier, to improve well-being is a difficult process for many patients. Motivational interviewing (MI) is a person-centered way to support individuals in changing their behavior. MI centers on what matters most to the patient and encourages a curious, accepting, and compassionate stance by the provider. The spirit of MI is demonstrated in the language and way a provider responds to the patient’s uncertainty about change. The provider helps the patient explore their own goals, barriers, and potential impact of making a change. When MI is embedded into the practice of healthcare, the results can be positive for the patient and practitioners.

This course equips the healthcare team with critical skills for assessing and managing pediatric trauma. It provides information about pediatric-specific anatomy, physiology, and trauma risks across developmental stages. Learners will explore best practices for identifying life-threatening injuries and assessing shock, respiratory, and neurological complications in children. Key topics include age-specific vital signs, pain assessment tools, and tools like the Pediatric Assessment Triangle (PAT) and Broselow™ Pediatric Emergency Tape. 

This course is designed to equip healthcare professionals with the basic critical skills for managing pediatric trauma in pre-hospital and clinical settings. Focusing on the unique anatomical and physiological differences in children, the course covers essential topics such as field triage, airway management, Pediatric Assessment Triangle, and weight-based medication dosing. Learners will gain insights into best practices for handling high-risk injuries and ensuring patient safety. With a strong emphasis on teamwork, the course integrates knowledge checks to reinforce learning and ensure mastery of key concepts in pediatric trauma care.

In this course, you will learn about Motivational Interviewing, an intervention to help people discover their own desire and ability to make difficult changes. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a way of communicating that draws out people’s own thoughts and beliefs in order to help them address their ambivalence about making a change.

The course uses a blend of instructive information and interactive exercises to help you understand and apply its core concepts. The goal of this course is to provide addictions, behavioral health counseling, marriage and family therapy, nursing, psychology, and social work professionals in health and human service settings with the skills to define and demonstrate the core concepts of Motivational Interviewing.

Pain is often underestimated and undertreated in the pediatric population due to many factors. As a result, children’s health outcomes are directly impacted without proper recognition and pain management, and quality of life is reduced. Physicians and nursing professionals must learn to assess and treat pediatric pain appropriately while caring for hospitalized children. This course describes the past and future status of pain management in children, pharmacological and non-pharmacological management options, and the complexities of managing pain in special populations.

Concussion is a form of mild traumatic brain injury that is common in children and adolescents. Despite increased awareness about the injury, concussion remains under-reported and under-diagnosed. Nurses and Radiology Technicians must be aware of the identification, diagnosis, and management of concussions in pediatric patients. 

Pediatric ambulatory care consists of well-child checks, preventive care, and the treatment and management of acute and chronic health conditions. Nurses provide holistic care to the pediatric patient by synthesizing their nursing assessments with parent/caregiver concerns. Nurses collaborate with the healthcare team to identify and address common pediatric health problems encountered in the ambulatory care setting.

Perioperative professionals must have a fundamental understanding of the anatomical, physiological, psychological, and emotional differences of children compared to adults and how these differences impact the care needs of pediatric patients in the perioperative period.

Opioid misuse is a leading cause of unintentional injury and death among adolescents and young adults (Hudgins et al., 2019). More than 80% of adolescents who die from an opioid overdose do so accidentally, reflecting in part their lack of understanding and underestimation of the dangers inherent in the misuse of opioid medications (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023).

Along with the increased risk of lethal overdose, adolescents who misuse prescription opioids are at increased risk of severe medical complications that necessitate emergency treatment, progression to drugs with even greater potential for lethality such as heroin, and the development of a substance use disorder (Davis et al., 2020).

The goal of this course is to provide addictions, behavioral health counseling, marriage and family therapy, nursing, psychology, and social work professionals in health and human services with information on the development, prevalence, and treatment of opioid use disorders in adolescent and young adult populations.