For optimal patient care, it’s important to stay up to date through various means. In addition to improving treatment outcomes, continuing medical education can open career advancement doors for practitioners.
By Japa Volchok, DO
[Editorial note: due to COVID-19, please verify all live events ahead of time as many have been cancelled or moved online]
Japa Volchok, DO
Japa Volchok, DO is a trained vascular surgeon and experienced wound care physician. He currently works as Vice President of Operations for Vohra Wound Physicians, the largest wound care specialty group focused on the post-acute market.
Choose Your CME Carefully
The education of health professionals, such as physicians, PAs (physician assistants), and nurse practitioners, is never complete because scientists are constantly making discoveries that have direct implications on the practice of medicine.
For optimal patient care, it’s important to stay up to date through various means. In addition to improving treatment outcomes, continuing medical education can open career advancement doors for practitioners. Acquiring greater expertise and broadening knowledge always has considerable value for all involved.
Below are some top resources.
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Wound Care Certification
Any practitioner who has elderly patients can benefit from earning an online wound care certification as such a certification provides the knowledge, skills and training to achieve superior clinical outcomes. Because wounds stem from multiple causes and can lead to serious complications, it helps to implement proven approaches in their care. Aside from courses that teach wound assessment and management, the program contains courses on related issues such as infection control, nutrition and geriatric skin conditions. It’s a well-rounded educational source that many have found helpful.
Those who enroll may choose from programs that offer CNE credits, a certification, or both. A CME program will be released in mid-2020.
COVID-19 CME
One of the biggest challenges the world’s medical community faces is the treatment of infectious disease from viruses, specifically COVID-19.
Stanford Center for Continuing Medical Education has two free courses in this area that provide 1 CME credit. One is How Can a Democracy Effectively Respond to COVID-19: Lessons from Taiwan. The webinar focuses on methods Taiwanese doctors used to achieve better outcomes, along with prevention approaches employed to protect the public from contracting the illness.
At the conclusion, participants should be equipped to develop strategies to cope with a pandemic.
A closely related topic, Anti-Viral Treatment of COVID-19 and Quarantine Measures includes updates on treatment and testing. It also discusses the Centers for Disease Control and Infection guidelines on quarantine criteria.
At the conclusion, participants should have the expertise to develop methods for self-monitoring and reporting the disease symptoms. They should also know how to adhere to Stanford protocols that reduce exposure to the virus.
Geriatric Medicine CME
The part of the populace that is over age 65 is growing, which leads to a great need for practitioners that understand this group’s special needs.
The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has several choices for continuing education credits in the area. One is Issues in Geriatric Care, which involves a monthly subscription to FP Essentials, an online publication with peer-reviewed clinical information. Upon successful completion of a quiz, it awards five CME credits. The price is $45.
A part of treating geriatric patients is end-of-life care. The AAFP has a Hospice and Palliative Care Self-Study Package that is approved for up to 11.5 credits. Some of the topics are symptom management, advanced care planning and bereavement, as well as nutrition and hydration. Learning tools include videos and supplemental learning activities. Packages start at $195.
[Editorial note: Modern MedEd has also identified several free and paid hospice and palliative care CME resources for your consideration]
Dementia CME
Harvard, one of the nation’s most revered educational institutions, offers continuing education on a wide range of topics, including cognitive decline. On May 27 to May 30, 2020, the school will host a seminar titled Dementia: A Comprehensive Update, which teaches a multidisciplinary approach for health professionals.
The course provides lectures on diseases that underlie dementia and discusses the latest clinical strategies for its diagnosis and treatment. Other lectures involve topics such as caregiving, managing problem behaviors and long-term nursing care.
As the program is very broad, it provides attendees with a wealth of knowledge on dementia that can enhance the quality of care they give. Additional topics include risk factors, societal costs, epidemiology and pathobiology. Other components involve future experimental measures under consideration and early detection methods.
The cost of the 1-credit course for physicians is $975. It will be held at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, Massachusetts.
Diabetes CME
Because diabetes is one of the chronic diseases that affect many people, expert knowledge in this area is beneficial for practitioners of an array of specialties.
From July 7 through September 29, 2020, the Mayo Clinic will host Diabetes Intensive Training, which provides 32 continuing education credits. The self-paced, online course consists of presentations, quizzes and an interactive case study. Participants who score at least 80 percent or higher at the concluding test are awarded the credits.
Objectives of the course include enabling practitioners to integrate principles of theory into health care plans for prevention and treatment of diabetes. Further goals involve discovering how to stay current in diabetes management and developing skills in self-directed learning. The fee is $1,240.
Continuing education is an integral part of the life of every medical professional. In our fast-changing world, it’s the only way to stay abreast of all the latest research and ever-evolving treatment strategies.
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