Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Certificate Series

Physical and occupational therapists often treat older patients with multiple chronic illnesses. In fact, 80% of adults over the age of 65 have multiple chronic conditions. This can be a difficult patient population to work with considering these patients see an average of 13 different physicians each year and have an average of 50 different prescriptions filled each year. Due to the complexity of this patient population, obtaining progressions through a therapy programcan be a very daunting task. Therapists often feel they are providing suboptimal therapeutic interventions due to the complexity of working with these patient populations. Additionally, caring for these patients is further complicated bythe potential adverse effects of being on multiplemedications. It can be very challenging to help guide these patients to achieve their greatest level of independence andto improve their quality of life.

During this one-day course, participants will be able to obtain comprehensive information on the pathophysiology of some frequently encountered chronic diseases and how they may affect a patient's ability to respond to therapy treatment. This course will evaluate the best techniques, including special tests to perform with these populations that will help guide therapy treatment. Also covered will be the most common medications that these groups of patients might be taking, medications that should be avoided in this population, and how to recognize possible adverse effects of these medications. Participants will discuss vital sign parametersand treatment precautions and how to use this information toguide your clinical decision making and when it is appropriate to continue therapy treatment or when therapy treatmentshould be held. Participants will also review the most common lab tests performed in the older adult population, how to interpret these lab values, and how the results of these tests can affect your patient's ability to progress during therapytreatments. After the completion of this course, participants will confidently use the best treatment strategies for populations with these chronic diagnoses.

• Expand your understanding of the causes, symptoms, and pathophysiology of heart failure, COPD, DM, and hypertension and increase your confidence working with patients with one or more of these conditions
• Pharmacological considerations and how to recognize possible adverse side effects and interactions that could be impacting your patient's ability to maximize functional independence
• Create practical, effective evidence-based interventions for at-risk populations and how to safely progress these patients through a progressive therapy program designed to improve functional outcomes
• Safely progress patients with chronic illnesses using the best plan of care in order to manage and motivate your patients to achieve their maximum level of fitness
• Acquire specific information regarding lab values including normal ranges and how to recognize the effects an abnormal lab value may have on therapeutic interventions, and Hypertension

While pharmacology is a critical component in the medical model of patient management, it is also one of the weakest areas of learning in most education programs for rehabilitation professionals. Thus, rehab specialists, unfortunately, often do not have the necessary background knowledge to understand and compensate for the ways that different medications may be negatively affecting their clients' outcomes. Despite this, they are frequently asked to document and report on their patient's medications!

This essential one-day workshop will increase attendees' comfort level with working around medication effects bypresenting key information on pharmacology. Lab time will include review of drug commercial effectiveness and medical chart reviews. This course will cover the more popular and commonly encountered pharmacologics in rehab settings, including pain and cardiac medications, anti-inflammatories,muscle relaxers, and antibiotics as well as vitamin and mineral supplements in relation to this topic. Side effects that canaffect rehabilitation through altered coordination, balance,cognition and swallowing will be specifically discussed, along with drug interaction risks. In addition, all attendees willreceive a practical, quick-reference handout on pharmacology specifically developed for rehabilitation professionals. After completing this course, attendees will see improved results in their daily practice through their recognition of patients' medication effects and ready knowledge of ways to offset them.

*Hands on lab will be modified for Web based delivery formats into recorded demonstrations

• NEW: Now including information about COVID-19 medications and vaccines!
• What rehab professionals need to know about how common medications work in the body
• Identify medication side effects and interactions for atleast 10 commonly prescribed categories
• How dietary supplements and certain medications canimprove performance both physically and cognitively
• Identify a drug class immediately upon seeing it
• Ensure success in rehabilitation despite challengescreated by medication effects

The National Institutes for Health reports that 25.3 million Americans live with chronic pain, while health economists estimate that the cost of chronic pain in the United States is $635 billion annually. Current research is revealing the broad ineffectiveness of pharmaceutical strategies and strongly suggests that successfully treating the multifactorial nature of chronic pain requires an integrative, holistic approach including attention on key emotional, psychological, and behavioral factors.  Integrative approaches including rehabilitation specific Tai Chi, breath-work, sensation-based movement, mirror therapy, and mindfulness are widely recognized body-mind modalities and research supported, non-pharmacological approaches in treating chronic pain conditions.

This workshop is filled with dynamic, mind blowing lecture and cutting-edge research giving participants the latest scientific understanding of chronic pain as well as the practical hands-on lab experience to apply over a dozenintegrative practices with their clients the very next day.  The lab content will include practical uses of mindfulness, conscious breathing strategies, mirror therapy,and gentle movement techniques designed to enhanceactivities of daily living, strength, range of motion, functionalendurance, and emotional wellbeing. Leaving this training, participants will know the critical chronic pain elements that the vast majority of other rehabilitation professionals are missing. Further, participants will have the practical tools to leverage that knowledge for faster and more consistent functional and occupational patient outcomes in the treatment of chronic pain conditions.

*Hands on lab will be modified for Web based delivery formats into recorded demonstrations

• Practice over 12 ready-to-use integrative treatment techniques for chronic pain
• Consistently improve your patient's painful symptoms, even in long standing issues
• Interpret the coupled nature of emotional, psychological, and behavioral factors in chronic pain
• Immediately apply the latest holistic treatment approaches that will turn your patients into raving fans
• Experience hands-on labs addressing spine, joint, muscle, and systemic related pain issues
• Apply the 3 foundational body-mind principles with patients dealing with multiple conditions

Prescribing exercise safely under the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) guidelines is very important for special populations. Individuals recovering from COVID-19 will require specialized exercise guidance using our backgrounds as therapists in exercise and pathology to make the best evidenced-based recommendations for their health.

The 50,000 ACSM professionals in sports medicine andexercise science fields share a common purpose – advance health through science, education, and medicine. The details are important. Guidelines and realistic goals can motivate and guide your treatments for your patients to reach their activity goals. This course will guide you through theACSM guidelines and criteria for special populations. Participants will review the most impactful exercise prescriptions and outcomes instruments to measure physical activity. After the completion of this course, therapists will bebetter equipped to confidently treat special populations with positive outcomes.

• ACSM purpose for exercise guidelines and the criteria for special populations
• Effectively incorporate more exercise into your treatments
• Best practices for outcome instruments to use when measuring physical activity
• Review popular wearable tracking devices toassist in motivating patients