This course will guide you through understanding best practices in incident report writing. It will assist you in understanding how those practices help protect the health and safety of the person you support, while at the same time protecting you. In this course, you will identify factors that affect the quality of incident reports and investigate elements that affect memory and recall. You will focus on reducing factors that negatively impact the completeness and accuracy of incident reports. Demonstrating your understanding of the guidelines taught in this course will ensure your documentation adheres to legal, ethical, and programmatic standards. While completing this course, you will review incident report notes and apply what you have learned to identify unclear, subjective, and ungrammatical elements within the notes. This course is intended for direct support professionals

There are many reasons that it can be difficult working with certain people. There may be communication breakdowns, personality clashes, or conflicting work habits. You may not like everyone you work with, but you do have to respect everyone. By learning ways to reduce conflicts, you’ll likely become more respected, too. In this course, you’ll learn strategies to calmly address misunderstandings before they become actual conflicts. Professional relationships can improve when you know how to deal with differences, communicate clearly, and listen respectfully.

In this course, you will learn about the effects of age and life transitions on alcohol and drug use in women and how these are reflected in treatment methodologies. A host of stressors and life transitions can be accompanied by significant changes in substance use and can be implicated in women's development of a substance use disorder. You will learn ways that you can provide gender-sensitive treatment to women struggling with substance use or at risk of developing a substance use disorder. The goal of this educational program is to provide marriage and family counseling, nursing, professional counseling, social work, and psychology professionals in health and human services settings with information about substance use treatment for women at various stages of development.

Healthcare professionals are often unprepared to respond to requests for physician-assisted death. With the increase in end-of-life discussions and more arguments for legalizing physician-assisted dying, healthcare professionals need to understand the reasons patients may initiate such a request. Healthcare professionals need to appropriately respond to these requests. This course discusses physician-assisted death and the related concepts. It also discusses ethical and legal concerns related to physician-assisted death. Without the knowledge and understanding of physician-assisted death, healthcare professionals may not respond appropriately to these requests from patients.

Communication is one of the most important elements of excellent care. This is especially true when decisions about medical treatments need to be made. Advance care planning is an ongoing process in which people explore and discuss their goals, values, and understanding of their health to guide future end-of-life treatment decisions. In this course, you will learn when and how to start conversations and how to use a framework called FIVE WISHES® that simplifies and personalizes the end-of-life conversation and helps to elicit valuable information for decision-making. The goal of this course is to provide healthcare staff with an overview of the benefits and components of effective advance care planning conversations.

This course is designed to provide greater awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace, steps to take to prevent it, and methods to deal with it if it does occur. The course will focus on federal laws, liability issues, harassment policies, employee rights, supervisor responsibilities, and investigation procedures.

Each year, substance use is linked to over 11 million deaths worldwide (Ritchie & Roser, 2019). Supporting individuals’ long-term recovery from substance use can help save lives. Recovery is a lifelong process that aims to keep an individual substance-free while improving their overall quality of life. Wellness strategies enhance recovery outcomes by focusing on optimal health across all dimensions of an individual’s life.

The state of healthcare in the U.S. is poor when compared to other developed countries and the need to balance cost and quality has become apparent (The Commonwealth Fund, 2019). Utilization management helps ensure the most optimal care is being provided and waste of resources or services is reduced when possible. Clinicians in utilization management perform a variety of functions to help achieve a balance between quality and cost of care. Utilization reviews are one method to reveal areas where cost or quality can be improved and can serve as a basis for quality improvement initiatives in all healthcare settings. Thus, the importance of utilization management will continue to grow as regulatory bodies and healthcare professionals strive to improve the state of U.S. healthcare.

This course provides an overview of telehealth practices including a brief history of telehealth, current trends and research, and associated technologies. You will learn how to provide telehealth services, including potential advantages and challenges. Case scenarios are included to offer examples for practical application.

The goal of this course is to provide psychologists, professional counselors, social workers, addictions professionals, marriage and family therapists, and nurses in health and human services settings with current, research-based information on telehealth and guidelines for practice.

This course provides an overview of the use of robotic-assisted laparoscopic/endoscopic methods during surgery. Along with a review of the eight components necessary for an endoscopic surgical procedure, it also describes the endoscopic functions of robotic-assisted technology. You will come away with a better understanding of how health-care professionals interact with robotic-assisted technology.

Resuscitation of children and adults differs in a number of ways, including the appropriate time to activate the emergency response system, initiate rescue breathing, and use defibrillation. Children who collapse suddenly are likely experiencing ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (PVT), which requires immediate CPR. The ability to use a defibrillator safely and effectively on a pediatric patient experiencing cardiac arrest is essential to providing quality care.

As a healthcare worker, you are in regular contact with residents, visitors, and coworkers. When harassment or bullying occurs in the workplace, the impact on staff and visitors creates a troubled workplace. Facility operations are also disrupted with long-reaching effects. Workplace violence refers clearly to threats or actual use of physical force against a person in the workplace. In recent years, more healthcare workers have assumed a greater risk of exposure to workplace violence. In this course, you will learn how to spot, prevent, and respond to workplace violence. 

Human trafficking victims are often concealed by their traffickers; however, studies show that many victims interact with healthcare professionals while they are being victimized. This places healthcare professionals in a unique position to recognize the signs and risk factors of human trafficking and take steps if they suspect a person may be a victim of human trafficking.

The goal of this course is to provide healthcare staff with critical steps to recognize and respond to human trafficking.

This course will focus on the biological and psychosocial factors that are unique to adolescents and that impact their vulnerability to the negative effects of opioid use. You will increase your understanding of the scope of opioid use disorders among adolescents and young adults and improve your ability to effectively identify and treat problematic, nonmedical use of prescription and other opioids. 

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.

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a complex condition that may have short- or long-term effects on a patient. Often difficult to treat, TBIs have a wide array of associated symptoms and disabilities, all of which may have a significant impact on the lives of patients and their families. In 2017, there were approximately 224,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. related to TBIs, mostly older adults over 75 years (CDC, 2021b). Nurses who care for patients experiencing a TBI should be ready to rapidly assess the patient so that they can be treated in a timely manner.

The goal of this course is to provide providers with training on suicide assessment, treatment, and management that meets the regulatory standards of the state of Washington.

Thoracentesis is an invasive procedure that requires knowledge from multiple healthcare professionals. A thorough understanding of the physiological and procedural principles surrounding thoracentesis allows proper patient management throughout all stages of the procedure. This results in improved patient outcomes and satisfaction. This course will explore the lung anatomy, pathophysiology, and conditions requiring thoracentesis. In addition, the course will discuss key healthcare team interventions and potential thoracentesis complications.

The goal of this course is to educate providers and nurses in the acute care setting on basic thoracentesis principles. 

Within any healthcare organization, there are systems, policies, and procedures that can be improved or events that could have been prevented. A root cause analysis is a tool that helps healthcare organizations improve their systems by using a team process of discovery. When you understand how to use a root cause analysis, you can apply it to create better solutions, prevent adverse events, and create more effective and efficient systems. This course discusses what a root cause analysis is and how to use it.

This course will give a high-level overview of the Quality Payment Program (QPP). Historically, the provider payment system was flawed, focusing on volume vs. quality of care. This course will further define the QPP and its two-track pathways for Medicare-eligible participants, known as Qualifying Participants (QPs). The two QPP pathways, Merit-based Incentive Payment Systems (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Models (APMs) will be discussed, including enrollment stipulations and 2023 proposed payment changes. Lastly, this course will briefly discuss the COVID-19 implications affecting the QPP.

Proficiency in the use of a validated stroke scale, such as the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), is important for any member of the healthcare team caring for patients with acute stroke. This stroke assessment scale efficiently assesses stroke severity, offering objective information about prognosis and outcomes along with directing early treatment. With proper training in the use of the NIHSS, including serial monitoring, specifically for those at risk for worsening neurologic status, little variance should exist in results among clinicians. Education is essential to improving reliability and increasing effective communication regarding treatment of stroke patient

Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) die at a younger age as compared to individuals who do not have SMI (Schmutte et al., 20121). Data shows that this trend is getting worse; individuals with serious mental illness are dying even earlier and most often from preventable causes. As a professional working with adults with serious mental illness, you are well-poised to help your clients address the preventable causes of premature death through the utilization of recovery-oriented, evidence-based practices. In this course, you will learn about the core values underlying the Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) model, recent adaptations of the IMR model, how IMR can support you in addressing both physical and mental health symptoms, and how the approach’s teaching principles can support your clients with serious mental illness manage and recover from their illnesses. This course provides an overview of IMR practices. Through the use of interactive exercises and detailed vignettes, the course will give you the information and techniques you need to make IMR an effective part of your therapeutic toolbox. The content in this course is applicable to nurse practitioners, nurses, alcohol and drug counselors, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, psychologists, and clinical social workers in human services settings. Inclusion of SAMHSA content does not constitute or imply endorsement or recommendation by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or the U.S. Government.

Grief is a normal and natural response to loss. It is not a problem to be solved, but rather a way of coping. This course discusses the basics of the grief process, the different types of grief, and ways of expressing grief. It also discusses tools to help you stay present and resilient as a healthcare professional supporting individuals and families.

Opioid use and misuse has become a significant problem within the United States. Each year, more and more people die from opioid overdose. As a healthcare provider, you play a critical role in addressing the opioid epidemic. This course will provide an overview of the opioid use and misuse trends in the U.S. A relatable story of a patient who has opioid use disorder will be used to explore fundamental information regarding opioid use and misuse. This course will also discuss how opioid prescribing has contributed to an epidemic and guidelines for opioid prescribing and use.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of children in the United States are abused or neglected (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). It is imperative that medical professionals have a better understanding of what they can do to address this serious issue. In this course you will learn the definitions of child abuse and neglect, how to screen and assess risk factors that predispose children to maltreatment, and how to help children and families receive the care that they need.

The persons you serve in your service setting are entitled to specific rights under the law. This course will introduce you to these basic rights. Knowing how to promote and protect your clients' rights is key to their health, safety, and well-being. It will also help you and your organization succeed and provide quality, ethical, and legally sound care. The goal of this course is to provide paraprofessionals in behavioral health settings with information about client rights.

Healthcare supervisors and managers are presented daily with challenges. These challenges present as process failures or those surrounding staff behaviors. An organization’s management team maps a path to support their supervisor’s success in dealing with these challenges. The approach is defined by proven characteristics, skills, and experiences. This course discusses the basic tools needed for supervisors and managers to be successful in their roles. 

At the organizational level, routine implementation of evidence-based practices that can identify and intervene with at-risk individuals, has been lacking for many years and remains so in many settings. The goal of this course is to provide knowledge about evidence-based, suicide-specific interventions. This course for healthcare professionals will focus on working with at-risk individuals focuses on interventions for those who have made a recent suicide attempt or who are at risk due to suicidal thoughts, feelings, or behaviors. Also discussed are ways to summarize the process for completing a safety plan and for reducing access to lethal means.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021a), more than 795,000 people experience a stroke each year in the U.S. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. and is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability. Over half of individuals 65 years old or older who survive a stroke have mobility deficits. Up to 40% of people who suffer a stroke continue to have moderate to severe impairments and require extra care (American Stroke Association, 2019). By understanding the cause of stroke and how to both treat and prevent it, you have the power to improve the lives of the people in your care. This course discusses how to identify when someone is having a stroke as well as treatment both during and after a stroke.

Workplace-related stressors can have a negative impact on both nurses and the patients under their care. The effect of these stressors has led to intensifying burnout and compromising safe patient care. Nurses must be knowledgeable about how to deal with stress effectively.

Recent research and healthcare reform efforts highlight the central importance of engaging patients in treatment as a key factor in improving patient outcomes. The high costs of patients’ lack of engagement include inadequately addressed existing health problems, the emergence of new health issues, non-adherence to medication regimens, medical errors, deaths, disability, and more frequent use of high-cost services such as emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations, versus preventive and routine care.

The goal of this course is to equip nurses and physicians in the acute care setting with strategies to engage patients in treatment prior to discharge from the ED, promote greater follow-through with discharge recommendations, and reduce the high utilization of costly treatment approaches.

Recent research and healthcare reform efforts highlight the central importance of engaging patients and their families in treatment as a key factor in improving patient outcomes. In family-centered care, collaborative relationships between healthcare providers and the patient’s family members are emphasized for their benefits to quality care. In contrast, lack of engagement of the patient and their family members in treatment is associated with inadequately addressed existing health problems, the emergence of new health issues, treatment complications, medical errors, deaths, disability, and more frequent use of high-cost services such as emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations vs. preventive and routine care.

This course will provide an overview of strategies you can use to engage your patient’s family members in treatment to promote greater follow-through with discharge recommendations from the ED and reduce high utilization of costly treatment approaches.

Healthcare providers are constantly challenged to quickly adapt to organizational change and respond to turbulent environments with many interconnected and moving parts. Experts maintain that interprofessional healthcare teams can improve the quality of care, problem-solve more effectively, and improve outcomes. Building a team with diverse backgrounds and unique perspectives has been shown to have a positive impact on performance. Nurses can make a distinct impact by influencing the design of care delivery and improving the practice environment as part of strategic interprofessional planning . 

In healthcare, social media posts can influence the hiring process, violate patient privacy, and result in termination of employment. This module informs healthcare professionals of the risks of social networks, which break down the walls separating our personal and professional lives.

The goal of this course is to educate nurses and physicians about key social determinants of health (SDOH) and health disparities affecting maternal and fetal outcomes.

This course is the fourth in a five-part series on the social determinants of health as defined by the Healthy People 2020 initiative. One of the pillars of the social determinants of health is health services. This course provides an in-depth and interactive analysis of how individuals' access to healthcare and primary care, along with their health literacy, affects their health and wellbeing. You will learn how to leverage this knowledge to improve your patients' health outcomes.

Education access and quality is a pillar of the social determinants of health for Healthy People 2030 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). This course outlines the effects of education on an individual’s health. The four components of education access and quality include early childhood education and development, high school graduation, enrollment in higher education, and language and literacy.

This assessment measures overall learner competencies as aligned with the modules presented in the social determinants of health learning path. The objectives being assessed are the social factors that impact a person’s health, how providers can incorporate the social determinants of health into their patient assessments, how these determinants impact patients’ ability to adhere to their care plans, and how to improve the care-planning process by incorporating social health information.

The ECG, an easily mastered tool of remarkable clinical power, can provide helpful and even vital information in a wide range of situations. One glance at an ECG can diagnose an evolving myocardial infarction, identify a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia, pinpoint the chronic effects of sustained hypertension or the acute effects of a massive pulmonary embolus, or determine the likelihood of underlying coronary artery disease in a patient with chest pain. Since the ECG is only as capable as its user, this course will help you understand how to read and interpret an ECG strip.

Prostatitis is a common genitourinary complaint in men that spans all age groups between adolescence to late adulthood. Simply described, it’s an inflammation of the prostate gland, sometimes with infection present. Symptoms may be absent, mild, or severe and life-threatening. The constellation of symptoms associated with this poorly understood condition can be straightforward or obscure, perplexing both providers and patients. This educational activity helps you distinguish between the various causes, treatments, and care for the condition.

This content is intended for all members of the obstetric team and is based on the educational theory that team performance is enhanced when all members of the team have the same understanding of the task and procedure to be performed.

This course is intended for current users, physicians and nurses, with an interest in enhancing their understanding of the clinical content presented in the Shoulder Dystocia module.

This course is intended for current users, physicians and nurses, with an interest in enhancing their understanding of the clinical content presented in the Shoulder Dystocia module.

Sexual harassment in the workplace creates an uncomfortable working environment for employees and can also create hardships for employers. This course will explain to staff working in any healthcare setting what sexual harassment is and what they can do about it.

Suppurative arthritis is classified as either gonococcal or nongonococcal. In younger sexually active people, nearly three-fourths of cases are due to Neisseria gonorrhoeae. In children and older people, Staphylococcus aureus is the cause of most cases of septic arthritis. The increased incidence of S. aureus parallels the use of prosthetic joints and use of immunosuppressive medications. S. aureus is responsible for more than three-fourths of infected joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Other causes of septic joint include streptococcus and gram-negative rods. Delay in diagnosis and/or treatment can lead to significant morbidity and mortality.
 

Healthcare and behavioral health professionals providing services on the front lines of a sustained health crisis are exposed to traumatic events on a regular basis. Staff deemed essential have little escape from the grueling demands of their daily work. Professional self-care routines are often insufficient or seemingly impossible during times of heavy demand. Without healthy work-life balance, effective self-care practices, and social connection, maladaptive coping mechanisms may surface or return. Many professionals experience feelings of helplessness when, despite their best efforts, they are unable to provide clinical solutions for their clients or patients. Based on what is known about trauma, it is imperative for professionals to effectively address self-care needs in a timely manner, for themselves and for those they serve.

The goal of this course is to provide all staff with an overview of CPR.

NOTE: This course does not replace the formalized training and return demonstration that must be completed for competency according to the American Heart Association. This course should only be used as a “refresher” to remind the learner of the key action steps in CPR.

The content of this course is sourced from the American Heart Association’s CPR and ECC Guidelines unless otherwise noted. The American Heart Association is not affiliated with nor endorses this course.

The OR is a complex environment. Highly trained individuals interact in a specialized setting with sophisticated and technically complicated devices, instruments, and equipment. There are also substantial differences among team members related to education, experience, skill level, influence, and formal and informal power. This course will inform nurses and surgical technologists of the evidence-based steps to take to create a culture of safety in the OR.

This is an exciting time to work in the field of behavioral health treatment. The field has changed dramatically in the direction of operating on the principles of recovery. Recovery treatment involves changing our attitudes and beliefs about serious mental illness and the long-term effects of these illnesses over the lifespan to reflect the belief that recovery is the expected outcome. The field continues to expand into areas of advancing the integration of mental health to physical health, connecting to multiple dimensions of wellness and alternative medicine, as well as incorporation of peer recovery specialists. Each of these areas supports the recovery of persons with behavioral health issues.

Controlled prescription medications, such as opioids, central nervous system depressants, and stimulants, are used to help manage health conditions but are also misused. Because of this, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and state agencies monitor use closely. Practitioners and pharmacies are required to monitor and report use of these substances and make ethical dispensing decisions. Due to many regulations regarding controlled substances, pharmacy technicians should be familiar with warning signs of misuse, signs of fraudulent prescriptions, and laws. They should avoid unnecessary judgment or bias and treat patients with compassion and respect.

When patients are not engaged in their treatment, risks include a worsening of existing health problems, the rise of new health issues, and medication regimens not being followed. This can lead to medical errors, disability, death, and more frequent use of costly treatment approaches such as emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Learn strategies you can use to engage patients in their treatment to avoid or reduce these risks.

A ‘culture of safety’ is an often-heard term in clinical settings. Most patients require complex care, with many interprofessional teams working together. Large patient volumes, an expectation for rapid delivery of care, the consumer’s ability to choose providers, and government reimbursements all drive acute care facilities to invest in preventing or reducing errors. Improving safety is beneficial to the patient primarily, with less risk of injury or death, but also to the facility and staff, improving retention and job satisfaction, with the added benefit of extensive cost-savings.

The role of risk management has a significant impact on the quality outcomes of acute care organizations. It includes systems and validated processes aimed at assessing and developing interventions to mitigate risk factors and optimize quality outcomes. Nursing leaders are stakeholders in the risk management process and can benefit from understanding risk management strategies and objectives.  In this course, you will learn about risk management in the acute care setting.

The goal of this course is to provide nursing professionals in acute care settings with information to enhance their understanding of the role they play in risk management along with proven strategies for ensuring quality outcomes in their professional practice in acute care settings.

As someone who works in healthcare, you know that many of the people you see are likely to be taking one or more psychiatric medications. However, some healthcare professionals do not have a working knowledge of the types of medications used to treat various psychiatric disorders, nor are they aware of these medications’ potential side effects. In this course, you will learn about the major categories of medications used in the treatment of mental illness, including antipsychotics, antianxiety medications, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers. You will also learn about the different medications’ indications for use and some of their most common side effects. You will find out about some of the precautions that apply to specific populations taking psychiatric medications, such as older adults and psychiatric medication use during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Antibiotic stewardship is a movement which aims to treat this powerful group of medications resourcefully, implementing antibiotic use with evidence-based practice. As part of the antibiotic stewardship movement, providers and other team members such as nurses are called upon to be stewards of antibiotics so that these medications can continue to be used to fight infections in the future. In this module, you will learn about antibiotic stewardship and apply your knowledge in several case studies. You will learn about the Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and how you can apply components of the program to your nursing practice.

This course provides information on child, elder, and dependent adult abuse, as well as intimate partner violence. You will learn about each type of abuse, signs of abuse among these groups, and your reporting responsibilities and procedures. The goal of this course is to provide general staff in health and human services settings with skills for recognizing and responding to abuse and neglect.

Universal Protocol is a Joint Commission strategy for preventing wrong-site surgeries, along with monitoring adherence by accredited facilities. The safe surgery checklist initiative, by the World Health Organization, was established to provide an outline of necessary tasks to complete in each perioperative phase of care. Along with these, there are many other risk-prevention strategies and tools to help keep surgical patients safe from harm.

The goal of this course is to equip nurses and CSTs with tools and other evidence-based practices for preventing wrong-site surgeries.

The goal of this course is to provide providers in health and human services settings with skills for preventing suicide among veterans.

Transfusions are a life-saving intervention, but transfusion errors, particularly errors involving ABO incompatibility, can be deadly. Three actions that have frequently been a contributing cause for ABO incompatibility errors are incorrect labeling of the blood sample for crossmatching, incorrect interpretation by personnel in the blood bank, and incorrect identification of the patient prior to initiation of a transfusion. Laboratory staff and nurses who are involved in the administration of blood products must strictly follow facility policies to ensure that they give the correct blood product to the correct patient. The goal of this course is to provide information about blood incompatibility errors and the evidence-based practices to prevent them.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of arrhythmia. It affects approximately 2.7 million people in the U.S. and is a leading risk factor for stroke (AHA, 2016). AF is most commonly seen in patients who are over age 60 years. Many patients with AF are asymptomatic, making it difficult to diagnose. AF can increase the risk of stroke if not diagnosed and treated. Approximately 15% of people who experience a stroke have AF (AHA, 2016). Strokes resulting from AF can be prevented with early screening, diagnosis, and intervention.

The goal of this course is to educate healthcare providers on methods for safe and responsible administration of controlled substances for the management of chronic pain.

The purpose of this course is to prepare learners for preceptor specialty practice, provide valuable material for a preceptor portfolio, and support professional development.

The role of a preceptor is vital to an organization’s ability to efficiently and effectively onboard an individual to a new department or work unit. This course is designed to include principles and practices for precepting new employees across healthcare settings. It introduces the learner to the fundamentals of the preceptor role and provides best practices for being an effective preceptor. Preceptors exhibit professionalism and best practices in their work units. Being a preceptor requires skill, talent, and preparation to yield the best outcomes.

The Healthy People 2030 campaign categorizes social determinants of health (SDOH) into five domains and each one has an impact on health outcomes and informs best practices in the delivery of healthcare (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). This course provides practice scenarios for use of a rapid assessment tool for screening patients for social determinants that impact their health.

This course will familiarize the learner with personal protective equipment. The different types and proper application of personal protective equipment are discussed. Choosing the correct personal protective equipment for the type of exposure is presented. This course engages the learner in discovering educational resources for commonly used chemicals and tactics for choosing personal protective equipment used in situations where exposure risks are evolving. 

Pediatric patients are not small adults and medical errors and patient harm in the pediatric population differ in many ways from those associated with adults. For example, one study estimated that adverse drug events occur three times more often in pediatric patients than adults, due in large part to their smaller physical size, early developmental stages, and dependence on others for care (Mueller et al., 2019). All perioperative nurses and surgical technologists should 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 pre-, intra-, and postoperative phases.

In the operating room, patient safety depends on high quality communication and shared knowledge among the surgical team. Several factors in this setting can contribute to communication failures like time constraints, shift changes, environmental barriers, the complex nature of surgical procedures, and clashing communication styles. All members of the surgical team must understand the risks to patient safety associated with communication failures, what information must be communicated and when, and how to use an assertive communication style.

The goal of this course is to equip nurses and CSTs with best practices for effectively communicating in the operating room. 

Anesthesia administration has become increasingly safer, but is not without risk. Patient- and family-centered care and the desire to save costs has led to a shift in perioperative care needs from “stabilize and admit” to “stabilize and discharge.” Each patient undergoing anesthesia requires competent, professional nursing staff to assist in timely and safe medication administration, maintenance, and recovery. Knowledge of anesthetic techniques, agents, and adjuvants is vital to this competence.

 The goal of this continuing education module is to help nurses advance their understanding of perinatal HIV transmission, prevention factors, and related legal and ethical issues.

This Webinar will examine the lack of pediatric preparedness which includes cognitive knowledge, equipment, policies and procedures plus pediatric friendly resources. Target Audiences would be nurses, administrators, physicians in community ED's urgent care facilities. To help them work on a trauma stabilization transfer and agreements strategy. With a focus on patient care for those stepping into medical facilities. 

 To care for a child with a tracheostomy tube, clinicians must understand the reason the child requires a tracheostomy, the functional status of the child’s upper airway, and the child’s medical condition. Children with tracheostomies routinely receive care in both home and healthcare settings. Patients with tracheostomies can experience complications and there is an increased risk of death associated with tracheostomy-related emergencies. The management of a child with a tracheostomy requires clinicians to be skilled in routine and emergency tracheostomy care.

Pediatric patients experience pain from minor procedures on a regular basis in acute care settings. To help reduce pain in these children, nurses must be knowledgeable about the typical minor procedures and procedural sedation performed. In addition, they must have knowledge regarding validated pain assessments, medications and adjuncts, and non-pharmacological management of pediatric pain.

The goal of this course is to equip nurses with knowledge of evidence-based practices for nursing management of pediatric pain associated with minor procedures.

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.

Pediatric immunizations are orchestrated specifically to protect young children from life-threatening diseases. These immunizations are often administered on a schedule. This course discusses the immunization schedule recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as related contraindications for pediatric immunizations.

This article discussed pediatric bony injuries in detail by outlining the mechanisms, physical exam findings, imaging modality recommendations, and initial treatment for pediatric knee fractures.

This course will introduce you to the influenza pandemic response and its three stages of preparation, response, and recovery. You will learn about the basic elements of a pandemic influenza plan and the steps needed to implement this plan when responding to pandemic levels of influenza in the community.

An approach that prevents and treats acute pain while avoiding unnecessary exposure to opioids is the goal of pain management (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 2019b). Clinicians should integrate patient-centered approaches, therapies, technology, and self-care strategies while collaborating with other professionals to manage pain (Cohen et al., 2020). However, barriers to the use of best practices for pain management are prevalent at the patient-provider, practice, and systems levels. Resolution of stigma and structural inequalities that limit access to evidence-based pain treatments is required to eliminate barriers.

The goal of this course is to provide healthcare professionals with evidence-based guidance for managing pain while weighing the risks and benefits of pain medications with functional improvement and harm prevention.

Regardless of discipline or setting, routine behavioral health screening will allow you to provide the best care possible. This course will provide a review of some of the most widely used behavioral health screening tools currently available to support collaborative care. In addition, we will explore important factors for consideration when integrating such screening tools into the workflow of your practice. 

The goal of this course is to provide addictions, behavioral health counseling, marriage and family therapy, nursing, psychology, and social work professionals in community health settings with information on how to screen clients for behavioral health conditions.

This course explores the risk factors for opioid misuse and reviews the classification of opioid use disorder. It also provides an overview of assessment and management tools and strategies that can be employed to ensure safe and effective pain management for patients using opioid medications.

The increased emphasis on pain management to improve functionality and quality of life has contributed to significantly more opioid prescriptions. Their availability led to widespread misuse across the nation. This course will address regulation and misuse of opioids and evidence-based management of chronic pain.

Americans are using opioids at an alarming rate, whether through prescriptions or illegal means. Parallel to this problem is the use of opioids during pregnancy.

The goal for this course is to present RNs, PAs, physicians, and entry-level drug and alcohol counselors in inpatient or outpatient settings with best practices for identifying and managing pregnant women who are using opioids.

The emphasis on pain management to improve quality of life and function has contributed to a significant increase in opioid prescriptions. As such, there has been a concurrent increase in risk of misuse and abuse. While opioids are highly effective for pain relief, closer attention to the risk versus benefit analysis has led to guidelines that prefer nonpharmacologic and nonopioid pharmacologic therapy over opioids, especially for chronic pain. Clinicians must carefully monitor the patient and be alert for signs that risks outweigh benefits of opioids. This course will address issues related to opioid prescribing, chronic pain, and opioid use disorder.

In just over a year, COVID-19 has changed how healthcare is delivered in the U.S. Guidelines governing preventive measures, including how we interact with everyone from patients to members of our own families, have undergone a process of near-constant evolution. Treatment recommendations have been regularly updated as scientists and providers have learned more about how the virus affects the human body. This course provides an overview of the latest information about the virus, preventing transmission, illness classification and treatment of patients with symptomatic disease, and currently authorized vaccines.

Two cases are presented. Risk factors, including recurring and nonrecurring, for obstetrical hemorrhage, are reviewed. Delivery preparations and preventative strategies are discussed. Methodologies that better quantify blood loss, allowing for earlier recognition of excessive blood loss, are presented. Management of the patient experiencing obstetric hemorrhage, including a review of current guidelines for blood component replacement therapy, are reviewed.

In helping people maintain their health, well-being, and independence, nurses must feel confident in their ability to make appropriate decisions. This course discusses ethical concepts that will guide you in tough situations where making the right decision is critical. Included is a discussion of ethical principles for nursing practitioners in the geriatric setting, along with how to utilize a decision-making process to resolve ethical situations and problems.

In this course, you will learn about pediatric anatomical and physiological differences, which will help you recognize normal variations throughout your assessment. Additionally, you will learn communication methods to help children feel more at ease during your assessment. Finally, you will understand essential warning signs that require immediate referral to additional medical professionals using the available resources and tools.

Failing to properly onboard employees results in poor performance and unnecessarily high turnover. In this course, we’ll cover best practices and lay out a plan for the first 6 months of a new employee’s orientation and performance expectations. We’ll also explore the importance of culture development as it relates to onboarding.

The physical environment in which individuals live has a direct impact on their health and wellness and their ability to access healthcare. Healthy People 2030 identifies neighborhoods and the built environment as a domain of the social determinants of health tied to health outcomes. This course provides an in-depth analysis of this domain and how it affects the health and well-being of patient populations. The four components of neighborhood and built environment include access to healthy foods, quality of housing, crime and violence, and environmental conditions. Clinicians can leverage this knowledge to improve treatment planning for patients and health outcomes.