As a healthcare professional transporting patients to the ED, you may serve patients with symptoms indicative of behavioral health disorders, such as depressive, bipolar, and anxiety disorders. In some situations, the ED provider must administer psychiatric medications. However, if possible, it is prudent to defer their use until the patient is admitted to an inpatient mental health facility or seen as an outpatient. In many instances, the reason for presentation in the ED is an adverse reaction to psychiatric medications.

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.

Social determinants of health impact the daily delivery, accessibility, and engagement of health improvement efforts. Healthcare professionals must learn how to increase awareness and interest in the determinants and find ways to engage patients, stakeholders, and other clinicians in addressing social determinants of health.

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.

You know the medical error statistics all too well, and, at times, they occur too close to home. The purpose of this course is to help you recognize error-prone situations and the factors that impact medical errors so you can prevent them. 

Though active shooter events are rare, it is practical and necessary to be well-prepared for the possibility, especially when you work with the public. Between 2010 and 2020, The Joint Commission (TJC) received 39 reports of active shootings that resulted in 39 deaths at accredited hospitals (TJC, 2021). As a result, the Center for Medicare Services (CMS) and TJC require hospitals to prepare for all hazards, including active shooter or hostage events, and to work with their local law enforcement and emergency response agencies to prepare for and respond to active shooter events. Understanding the risks and motivations behind active shooter events, how your body and mind may respond to stress, and how best to prepare for an active shooter event is the best way to protect yourself and others should the unthinkable occur in your facility.

Telehealth offers numerous benefits and poses several challenges when used to treat behavioral health conditions. Many challenges can be addressed through specific problem-solving and communication strategies.

This course provides an overview of telehealth as well as a discussion of both benefits and challenges. You will learn the regulatory issues you should consider when preparing and implementing a telehealth practice. Lastly, this course highlights important strategies to develop rapport and promote engagement when treating clients via telehealth.

Health outcomes are influenced in myriad ways by an individual’s social environment and their community. For example, community is linked to such outcomes as body mass index, homicide rates, and suicidal behavior (Diez Roux & Mair, 2010; Bharmal et al., 2015; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], n.d.). Due to these strong influences on health outcomes, the U.S. Department Health and Human Services Healthy People 2030 campaign identifies social and community context as a domain of the social determinants of health. Social determinants of health are external conditions which exist with the potential to affect a patient’s current and future health, often beyond a patient’s direct control. Of particular importance, however, is how this domain fits into the larger picture of the social determinants of health. The elements in the social and community context have been shown to help negate potentially negative consequences of the other social determinants of health (Bharmal et al., 2015).

Age-specific competency is not only a regulatory requirement but a professional necessity. Patients of differing ages are prone to different risks and have specific needs. For instance, infants require lots of attention; toddlers require constant supervision; and older adults depend on healthcare professionals (HCPs) to help them avoid potentially life-threatening complications. Nurses who have developed age-specific competencies are sensitive to these needs and risks. They are also adept at assessing, diagnosing, planning, implementing, and evaluating the care for these patients. Ensuring staff members are competent in caring for patients of differing ages is one important way that healthcare organizations ensure safe, high-quality care.

The goal of this course is to provide nursing professionals and health educators in acute care with an overview of age-specific competency requirements needed when planning and delivering healthcare.