Full Course Description

Healthcare, Remixed

Through an engaging mix of song, humor, and creative storytelling, Dr. Damania examines the challenges of delivering compassionate care in our challenged healthcare system, while proposing collaborative ways to revitalize it. He explores how we might work individually and collectively to ensure that the future of medicine is a bright one.

Program Information

Objectives

Analyze the root causes that are challenging care delivery across healthcare systems.
Evaluate the causes, signs, and symptoms of provider burnout.
Determine new methods of patient communication leveraging social media.
Devise new models of healthcare team structure, delivery, and financing.

Outline

Root Causes that Challenge Care Delivery Across Healthcare Systems

Fee-for-service model incentivizes procedures and episodic care, not prevention
Culture of medicine is not team-based
Medical system does not always meet patients where they are

Causes, Signs & Symptoms of Provider Burnout

Multiple causes of burnout - medical culture, administrative burden & high work load
Burnout can manifest in atypical patterns
Recognizing burnout and acting to alleviate it is key to sustainable, rewarding careers in healthcare

New Methods of Patient Communication - Leveraging Social Media

Social media is now a crucial component to reach and educate both patients and providers
Learn about the use of video communications in public health efforts, leveraging Facebook and YouTube

New Models of Healthcare: Team Structure, Delivery & Financing

Focus on primary care and prevention
Leverage a membership model/capitated payment system
Team-based structures where providers practice at the top of their license, with support from the team

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Copyright : 03/24/2022

Novel and Not So Novel Anticoagulants: Mechanism of Action, Indications for Clinical Use and Therapeutic Monitoring

Options for anticoagulation have been expanding steadily over the past few decades, providing a greater number of agents for prevention and management of thromboembolic disease. In addition to heparins and vitamin K antagonists, anticoagulants that directly target the enzymatic activity of thrombin and factor Xa have been developed. Appropriate use of these agents requires knowledge of their individual characteristics, risks, and benefits.

In this recording, we highlight with clinical case studies and pharmacodynamic data the practical aspects of the use of direct thrombin inhibitors (oral and parenteral) and oral direct factor Xa inhibitors, along with other anticoagulants in development (medications which target the active form of factor XI and monoclonal antibody Blocking factor XI).

Indications and efficacy of anticoagulants in specific clinical settings and under clinical conditions are presented. Moreover, management of bleeding and perioperative management of patients receiving direct thrombin inhibitors and direct factor Xa inhibitors will also be discussed.

Program Information

Objectives

Analyze the mechanism of action of vitamin K antagonists.
Distinguish three clinical conditions when anticoagulation is indicated.
Evaluate contraindications when prescribing anticoagulant medications.
Assess therapeutic range for three laboratory tests to monitor anticoagulants.

Outline

Unfractionated Heparin

Mechanism of action
Dosing
Laboratory monitoring
Reversal agent

Low Molecular Weight Heparin

Limited indications for laboratory monitoring
Renal Adjustment

Vitamin K Antagonists

Mechanism of action on the clotting cascade
Monitoring parameters
Contraindications for use
Reversal agents

Direct Thrombin Inhibitors

Mechanism of action
Clinical conditions for use
Reversal agent

Factor Xa Inhibitors

Standard dosing
Indications for treating clinical conditions
Prophylactic dosing

ADP P2Y12 Receptor Inhibitors
Medications Which Effect Actions of Anticoagulants

P-Glycoprotein inhibitors and inducers
Cytochrome P-450 inhibitors and inducers

Over the Counter Medications Effecting Coagulation

Aspirin
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Advantages and Disadvantages of Oral Anticoagulants
Contraindications for Anticoagulation
Case Studies

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Copyright : 03/24/2022

Gastrointestinal Pharmacology Update: Prescribing for Patient Outcome Achievement

Watch double certified Clinical Gastroenterologist Dr Peter Buch, as he provides solutions to your most challenging GI-related challenges in practice. Focusing on common patient concerns, including H pylori, c difficile, inflammatory bowel disease and chronic constipation, you will take away the latest pharmacologic best practice insights to guide your own prescriptive decisions.

Program Information

Objectives

Determine the current best medication practices for H pylori.
Select up-to-date approaches to manage chronic constipation.
Analyze the best pharmacological strategies for PPI use.
Explore important updates in clostridium difficile treatment.
Plan to incorporate the newest strategies for successful treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Outline

Helicobacter Pylori

Testing regimens
Clarithromycin resistance and need for quadruple therapy
Pill burden and risk of recurrence
How to manage refractory H pylori

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)

Who needs chronic therapy
REAL side effects of PPIs

Clostridium Difficile

Should we still be using Metronidazole?
Vancomycin
Fidaxomicin
Fecal transplants - the ultimate probiotic
Bezlotoxumab

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

When to consider 5 ASAs
Antibiotics
Steroids
Antimetabolites
Anti TNFs
Vedolizumab
Ustekinumab
Tofacitiniub
Biosimilars

Opioid Induced Constipation

How to choose among: Osmotic or stimulant laxatives
PAMORAS: Naloxegol,Naldemedine, Methylnaltrexone
Secretogogues like Lubiprostone
Selective 5HT4 agonist like Prucalopride

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Copyright : 03/24/2022

Psychopharmacology: Use Second & Third Generation Antipsychotics Safely and Effectively

Antipsychotics are a class of medication that can be extremely helpful when used appropriately. This class can be used as an adjunct to treat mood irregularities, treatment resistant depression, and bipolar depression. Primary care providers and specialties other than psychiatry often lack an appropriate comfort level with prescribing antipsychotics which prevents the prescriber from using the class all together. This recording is intended to increase the prescribers comfort level with antipsychotics, learn about some of the newer agents, and facilitate the use of these medications safely and appropriately.

Program Information

Objectives

Distinguish the impact of neurotransmitters and their respective functions.
Analyze the most commonly used antipsychotics to pinpoint the pharmacological differences.
Evaluate the side effect profiles and the pharmacological mechanism contributing to these adverse effects.
Plan for appropriate use of SGAs and TGAs in clinical practice.

Outline

Second & Third Generation Antipsychotics: Safe & Effective Use in Practice

Neurotransmitter function
Differentiate between FGA and SGA
SGA/TGA and medications associated with each class
Common adverse effects of SGAs/TGAs
Pharmacological mechanisms behind adverse drug effects
Prescriptive best practices for SGAs/TGAs in clinical practice

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Copyright : 03/24/2022

Advancing Antibiotic Selection for Common Outpatient Infections

New research, clinical practice guidelines, and bacterial resistance continues to alter best practice for use of antibiotics. This session will emphasize results from recent research publications that demonstrate opportunities for enhanced antibiotic use to optimize patient outcomes. Dr. Wombwell, PharmD and Board Certified Infectious Disease Pharmacist, will draw attention to clinical situations that antibiotics are overprescribed, unnecessarily used, inappropriately dosed and underutilized in the treatment of infections.

Program Information

Objectives

Evaluate beta-lactam reaction histories to makes evidence-based decisions on the need to avoid beta-lactam therapies.
Develop risk factor–based empiric antibiotic regimens for patients with suspected community-acquired pneumonia.
Conclude which clinical scenarios require MRSA coverage for skin infections.
Formulate effective evidence-based therapies for Clostridioides difficile infections.
Choose cost-effective antibiotic therapies that minimize risk for adverse effects.

Outline

Penicillin Allergy

Side effect vs. allergy
Reassessing allergy statistics
Cephalosporin cross-sensitivity
Allergy history and antibiotic indication-based recommendations

Community Acquired Pneumonia

Assess 2019 ATS/IDSA guidelines
Review EPIC study
Streptococcus pneumonia resistance
Evaluate and contrast oral therapies for CAP

Skin Infections

Assessing Streptococcus vs. Staphylococcus
When is MRSA therapy necessary?
Comparison of oral MRSA therapies
NSAID adjunct

C. difficile Infections

Vancomycin vs. Fidaxomicin
Managing recurrence
Probiotic assessment

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Copyright : 03/25/2022

Diabetes Medications: The Latest Treatments & Guidelines

Advancements in research and treatment for diabetes mellitus is exciting. With 9 classes of diabetes medications now available, there are a lot of options, but it can also be confusing to choose which medications are best to treat your patient with diabetes. Devising an individualized plan of care for each patient requires that your practice is up-to-date and based on the current evidence-based guidelines. Tracey Long, PhD, MSN, MS, RN, APRN-BC, CDE, CNE, CCRN, will share her expertise on the pharmacological management in this evolving specialty.

Program Information

Objectives

Differentiate between the nine currently available classes of medications to treat diabetes.
Apply ADA and AACE practice guidelines for medication decision making.
Describe side effects and effectiveness used for treatment of diabetes mellitus.
Explain the use of combination therapy for treatment of chronic hyperglycemia.

Outline

Diabetes Medication Classes

Oral antihyperglycemics: alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, biguanides, DPP4-inhibitors, meglitinides, SGLT2 inhibitors, sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones
Injectable antihyperglycemics (not insulin): amylin analogs, incretin mimetics, GLP-1 agonists
Insulins: rapid, regular, intermittent, long acting

ADA and AACE Practice Guidelines

What has changed for 2022
Standards of care and diagnosing
Glycemic control algorithm
Guidelines for monotherapy and combination therapy

Comparison of Medication Side Effects

Medication decisions include side effects, organ effect, and adverse drug effects

Up-to-Date Prescription of Insulin

Insulin delivery systems: syringe, pen, pump, and inhaled insulin
Algorithm for adding/intensifying insulin
Patient education for storage, mixing and traveling
Multiple daily injections vs. continuous glucose monitoring

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Copyright : 03/25/2022

COVID-19 Treatments: FDA Approved & Off Label Medications

Karen Morrissey PhD, FNP, BC works as a telemedicine family nurse practitioner in a COVID-19 Initiative, delivering care to many patients experiencing COVID symptoms. As guidance continually evolves, this session will cover the latest effective treatment options regarding:

Patient self-assessment
Risk group priority tiers
FDA approved treatments
Off label treatments

Program Information

Objectives

Assess severity of symptoms to develop the most appropriate plan of care.
Evaluate current FDA approved COVID treatments for use in outpatient clinics.
Analyze non-FDA approved medications and understand why they are not yet approved.
Determine outpatient treatments that should be avoided.

Outline

As guidance continually evolves, learn from a real time discussion on the latest effective treatment options:

Patient self-assessment 
Symptom rating
Risk group priority tiers
FDA approved treatments by symptom
Off label treatments
Tixagevimab-Cigavimab Evusheld
Monoclonal antibody therapy
Casiriviman/imdevimab
Sotrovimab
Bamlaniviman-etesevimab
Remdesivir veklury
Nirmatrelvir-ritonavir Paxlovid
Molnupiravir
Outpatient therapies that should be avoided

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Copyright : 03/25/2022

Pediatric Care: Medication Selection to Manage Children’s Symptoms

As we see pediatric patients in practice, it is imperative that we identify and treat the CAUSE, which will hopefully take care of the SYMPTOM, making appropriate use of the best evidence to guide practice decisions.

And it isn’t just the pediatric patient’s presentation. Parents can be at their whit’s end when you see them…concerned, frustrated or perhaps already ready to form their own diagnostic conclusion.

Join Stephen Jones, MS, RN, PNP, ET, to recognize, prevent and manage common childhood conditions. When you know the latest evidence based recommendations, you will have the clarity to incorporate necessary assessments to dictate the treatment plan.

Program Information

Objectives

Differentiate between multi system causes vs. symptoms with manifesting signs.
Choose the essentials necessary for an efficient history and assessment of pediatric presenting symptoms.
Determine the significance of the airway and gut microbiome in contributing to reported symptoms, along with appropriate management.
Evaluate many of the underlying causes and triggers for common upper (including HEENT) and lower respiratory conditions.

Outline

History Taking and Physical Assessment

Developmentally and age appropriate techniques
Determining cause versus symptom and underlying triggers
Non-pharmacological and pharmacological choices

HEENT/Upper Respiratory Conditions

Symptoms - shiners under eyes, tearing and redness from sclera/eyes; ear pain and/or can’t hear; nasal congestion and rhinorrhea; croupy sounding cough, stridor
Non-pharmacological management
Pharmacological and technology options
- Allergy and cold and cough medications
- Anti-microbial
- Nasal sprays, nasal rinses, eye drops, ear drops

Lower Respiratory Conditions

Symptoms - cough, wheeze, dyspnea, difficulty breathing
Non-pharmacological management: chest physiotherapy
Pharmacological (OTC and RX), and technology options
- Asthma medications: Controllers and relievers
- Anti-microbial
- Cold and cough medications
- Analgesic
- Spacers, nebulizers, DPI, oral pills. Mist/humidification. Pulse oximeter.

Gastrointestinal conditions

Symptoms - abdominal discomfort, reflux/heartburn, colic, loose stools/diarrhea, constipated, dehydrated and not taking fluids
Non-pharmacological management
- based on GI tract “zone”, CAM, alternative therapies
- concepts of dehydration and diarrhea, with appropriate evidence-based fluids
Pharmacological options
- Antacids and analgesics
- Anti-diarrheal
- Constipation: Acute and chronic medications

Temperature Measurement

Current evidence-based guidelines for appropriate fever management

Headache:

Symptoms - pain, throbbing, nausea, lights bothering
Best practice treatment guidance

Sleep:

Symptoms - hard time falling asleep; not able to stay asleep; sleeps “all night” but still tired
Pharmacological treatments: OTC vs. R

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Copyright : 02/10/2022

Reduce Prescriber Liability Risk

The integration of nurse practitioners and physician assistants into various care settings has had a largely beneficial impact on healthcare, in terms of increased patient access to services and efficiency of operations.  Without careful attention paid to such issues as communication, documentation, and scope of practice, non-physician providers can expose themselves and healthcare settings to serious liabilities.  Learn strategies that reduce professional liability exposure to you and the organization(s) where you practice.

Program Information

Objectives

Evaluate drugs that are more commonly associated with adverse events and medication errors.
Analyze clinical examples of deviations from the standard of practice can lead to legal consequences.
Apply guidance from agencies concerned with the prevention of and response to medication errors.
Manage prescriptive decisions to reduce the possibility of legal consequences.

Outline

Trends in Regulations of APRNs and PAs
Scope of Practice Laws
Prescriptive Authority Risks
Medication Errors
Improper prescribing/Managing of controlled drugs
Failure to properly instruct patient
Privileging in Acute Care Settings
Institute for Safe Medication Practices
Legal Case Studies and Recommendations

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Copyright : 01/18/2022

Pharmacological Decisions to Optimize Cardiac Outcomes

Cardiac pharmacology can be intimidating.  Are you prescribing the latest evidenced based medications to improve outcomes in your cardiac patients?  This session discusses the optimal medical management for acute and chronic heart failure, ischemic heart disease and narrow complex arrhythmias.  You will walk away with many cardiac pharmacology clinical pearls to incorporate into your daily practice and feel confident you are prescribing the latest EBP medications.

Program Information

Objectives

Evaluate strategies to up-titrate medications to obtain goal directed medical therapy for systolic heart failure patients.
Develop medication plan for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients.
Determine the optimal pharmacological management for ischemic heart disease patients.
Differentiate between pharmacological treatments for rate versus rhythm control in tachyarrhythmias.
Apply evidenced-based medication options for the case studies presented.
Integrate clinical pearls of cardiac pharmacology into daily practice.

Outline

Heart Failure/Cardiomyopathy Pharmacology: Systolic vs. Diastolic vs Hypertrophic

ACE Inhibitors
Angiotensin Receptor Blockers
Angiotensin Receptor Neprilysin Inhibitor
Betablockers
Diuretics
Nitrates and Hydralazine
Sodium Glucose Cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) Inhibitors
Optimizing outcomes with titrations of medications

Ischemic Heart Disease Pharmacology: STEMI vs. NSTEMI vs chronic angina

Fibrinolytics
Antiplatelets
Betablockers
Statins
Nitrates
Calcium Channel Blockers

Narrow Complex Tachycardia Pharmacology: Atrial Fibrillation vs. Atrial Flutter vs Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT)

Rhythm vs Rate Control
Antiarrhythmics
Calcium Channel Blockers
Betablockers
Digoxin
Anticoagulants

Pharmacology Case Studies

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Copyright : 02/17/2022

Patients in Crisis: Life Threatening Risks of Opioids, Medical Marijuana, Vaping

We have an opioid crisis in America like we have never seen before! Every day in her practice, Maria Broadstreet, R.N., MSN, APN, treats clients who have families, good jobs and amazing futures if they can take control of the “disease.”

Learn your way through emotional case studies – post-surgical pain management, the phenomenon of vaping, what we are beginning to learn from legalized marijuana… You have been challenged in the past, asked to provide insight and recommendations on something that has been so misunderstood. With the vastly changing addiction field, new research is emerging. We now can “see” the brain chemistry changes from opioids on actual MRIs. With these valuable clinical insights, you truly can help people recover and lead the meaningful, happy lives they desire!

Think about Jack…a 36-year-old attorney, married, 2 kids, helps coach his son’s track team on the weekends. To most who are looking from the outside, he has it all...a big house, beautiful family, they go on amazing vacations…no one sees how he struggles in the morning until he is able to take his Vicodin, how he has to hide in the bathroom at the office so no one asks any questions, how he is consumed with making sure he has enough pills and hopes his wife doesn’t notice how much money he took out of their checking account this week…

No longer does “addiction” mean a specific stereotype. It crosses ages, socioeconomic groups, races, cultures. Withdrawal is scary, overdose is scary, we didn’t sign up for this…but we are called on as the experts to navigate the largest epidemic we will probably know in our lifetime. If it hasn’t professional or personally affected you, it will…it’s unavoidable.

Program Information

Objectives

Evaluate how opioids are affecting the brain and mental health.
Differentiate between substance use disorder and common co-occurring disorders.
Analyze the benefits of inpatient versus outpatient treatment, medication and behavioral treatment options.
Catalog the conditions benefited by medical marijuana use and ramifications of legalization.
Determine pain treatment options for a patient with an opioid addiction.
Choose patient teaching based upon what we know and what we don’t know regarding vaping.

Outline

The Opioid Crisis: Dealers, Doctors and Drug Companies

Are there really gateway drugs?
The path from post-op pain treatment to heroin
Saving our “children”
Opioid use amongst healthcare providers

Risks of the Opioid Options

Natural vs. synthetic options
Opioids for treatment of pain
Genetic risks coming to light
Why fentanyl is scarier than heroin

Opioids ARE Changing the Brain

Effect of different drugs on brain neurons
MRI’s before and after opioid abuse
Pleasure center in the brain – is it just willpower?
Can the effects be reversed?
Association with other diagnoses (depression/ADHD)

Life Threatening Challenges

Is it reasonable to expect a patient to just stop?
Withdrawal signs/symptoms
Initial interventions when you don’t know what your patient has taken
Ethics of supplying clean needles
Interpretation of drug test results
Safe drug disposal

Treatment Options

Inpatient vs. outpatient benefits
Medication assisted
- Buprenorphine – what you MUST know
- Methadone
- Mitigating medications
- Quickly recognize symptoms of precipitated withdrawal
- Process of induction
- Maintenance
Lucemyra
Therapy and group counseling
Assessment of true pain vs. drug-seeking behavior
Your safety in a potentially dangerous situation
Provider requirements – X waiver

Narcan

What can go wrong with this life-saving treatment
Quick overdose assessment
Why Narcan will not work on non-opiate overdoses
Administration perils
Critical assessment AFTER Narcan administration

Marijuana: Medical…or Otherwise

Conditions benefited by medical marijuana
Long-term implications of recreational use
Ramifications of legalization
Side effects can be life threatening

The New Hot Topic of Vaping

What we know and what we don’t know yet
The risks of various vaping devices
Patient education based upon the latest injury/death statistics

Patients in Addiction Crisis

Early intervention more effective than treating at “rock bottom”
Expecting quitting “cold turkey” is just unrealistic
Relapse IS predictable
MAT is NOT trading one drug for another
Addiction is not just “1 gene”
Opioids change the brain

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physician Assistants
Public Health Department Staff
Teachers
Social Workers
Counselors
Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Psychologists
Psychiatrists
Case Managers
Paramedic/EMTs

Complex Geropharmacy: Atypical Symptoms, Comorbidities & New Standards

Geropharmacy is both an art and a science. The confusion can lie between knowing when and how to separate the two. 

As you evaluate medication usage in the elderly, especially in terms of fall risk or cognitive impairment, a well-planned decision-making process makes a dramatic impact on outcomes.

Learn how the current body of science can demonstrate statistically significant benefits. That vital information is then coupled with the art of knowing your geriatric patients goals to prescribe/deprescribe on an individualized basis.  

Program Information

Objectives

Appraise the risk factors for an adverse drug reaction.
Apply five key principles to deprescribe medications.
Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate medication management of Alzheimer’s disease.
Develop best practice methods to avoid medications that contribute to Alzheimer's disease.
Evaluate the types of medications that statistically increase fall risk.
Plan your response once a medication has been identified that could be contributing to a patient’s falls.

Outline

Geropharmacy

Adverse drug reactions
5 principles to describe medications
Medication adherence
Impact from complementary and alternative medications

Fall Risk, Cognition & Medication Use

Cardiovascular medications
Neurological medications
Medications to treat peripheral disorders
Psychotropic medications
Treatments for insomnia
Urinary incontinence treatments
American Geriatrics Society recommendations
Joint decision making with patient

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Antiseizure Medications: Prescribing for Effectiveness

Join Filissa M Caserta MSN, ACNP-BC, CNRN, for an important antiseizure medication update. The purpose of this class is to increase your competence to: manage patients that have a known seizure disorder who are on antiseizure medications, identify patients at risk for seizures and understand the impact of concurrent conditions (co-morbidities) on seizure frequency and antiseizure medication effectiveness.

Program Information

Objectives

Evaluate the pharmacology of the most common antiseizure medications.
Choose the most appropriate first line antiseizure medication for focal onset seizures.
Plan for the most common side effects of antiseizure medications.
Determine which antiseizure medications require therapeutic monitoring.
Assess the impact of pregnancy on seizure frequency.

Outline

Antiseizure Medications

Classification
Pharmacology
Side effects
Interactions
Toxicities

Recommended Medications by Seizure Type

Focal onset
Generalized

Special Considerations

Therapeutic monitoring
Alcohol consumption
Non-adherence
Geriatric patients
Women (contraception and pregnancy)
Driving

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Pharmacology Update for Common Neurological Disorders

Neurological disorders represent one of the most prominent causes of morbidity and mortality that adversely affect the lifestyle of patients and a major percentage of these diseases result in disability. More conservative prescribing has the potential to reduce adverse drug events and patient harm and cost; however, no method exists defining the extent to which individual clinicians prescribe conservatively. One potential domain is prescribing a more limited number of drugs. Personal formularies—defined as the number and mix of unique, newly initiated drugs prescribed by a physician—may enable comparisons among clinicians, practices, and institutions.

Program Information

Objectives

Plan for use of the current best medications in the care of neuroscience patients.
Develop a specialty list for your practice, to become more familiar with commonly used medications in neuroscience patients.
Determine half-life, available routes and refill requirements of these commonly used medications
Evaluate the current patient medications regimens and develop strategies on when to refer a patient to a specialist.

Outline

Headaches/migraines
Multiple sclerosis
Peripheral neuropathy
Epilepsy and seizure disorders
Dementia
Parkinson’s disease
Chiari malformation
Dystonia
Huntington’s disease
Hyperexplexia
Muscular dystrophy
Myasthenia gravis
Myopathy
Primary orthostatic tremor
Restless leg syndrome

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants

Geriatric Pharmacology: Practical Application Through Patient Cases

Kiplee Bell, MD, earned board certification as a Physician Assistant, an additional master’s degree in Gerontology, and finally her Doctorate in Medicine. Over the course of her career, Kiplee has worked in acute care, urgent care, ambulatory care and long-term care settings. Currently, she treats geriatric patients for a wide variety of medical and behavioral symptoms. Kiplee will deliver a comprehensive and up-to-date geriatric pharmacology presentation, walking through the body systems: neuro, endocrine, cardiac, pulmonary, GI, infectious disease and musculoskeletal.

Program Information

Objectives

Differentiate between multiple overlapping comorbidities.
Determine when Beers Criteria clarifies-risk versus benefit in real time.
Develop clinical acumen to recognize red flags.
Analyze the implications of team dynamics when assessing the geriatric client.

Outline

Beers in Review

Foundational review of Beers to date
Why is Beers relevant in our day-to-day practice?

Age-related Physiologic Changes

Pharmacokinetics
Pharmacodynamics

Beers Update

Review of the top 5 updates
A closer look in practicum

Systems Approach

Neuro
Endocrine
Cardiac
pulmonary
G I
Infectious Disease
Musculoskeletal

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Clinical Nurse Specialists
Physician Assistants
Physicians
Physical Therapists
Physical Therapist Assistants
Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Speech Language Pathologists
Social Workers
Nursing Home Administrators

Pharmacology of Herbal Therapeutics

Herbal supplements and nutraceuticals are increasingly used by patients to treat common conditions and symptoms. Vanessa Ruiz, ND, RN-BSN, will share from her expertise on their common uses, mechanism of actions, medication interactions, side effects and pharmacokinetic drug-herb interactions. She will discuss supplement product quality and effectiveness in clinical practice. Commonly used supplements such as Black Cohosh, Gingko, Valerian and more will be discussed. After completing this training, you will gain knowledge of integrative treatment in practice and how to incorporate safely in herbs in your treatment plans.

Program Information

Objectives

Analyze commonly used medicinal herbs.
Assess potential drug-to-herb interactions.
Evaluate pharmacological actions and therapeutics of commonly used herbal medicines.
Determine appropriate use and indications for herbal medicines and supplementation in the practice.
Formulate an integrative plan for common patient care ailments.

Outline

Quality, Safety of Supplementation and Herbs 
Cardiovascular Support 
Anti-inflammatory Herbs and Pain Management
Gastrointestinal Support 
Endocrine Support 
Pulmonary Support 
Immune System Focused Herbs 
Common Herbs for Brain Health and Mood

Target Audience

Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Physicians
Physicians Assistants