The Parkinson’s Foundation has been granted Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education as a provider of continuing education, according to a news release.
The foundation earned this designation by meeting rigorous standards for delivering continued education planned by and for healthcare teams. The status is a symbol of quality reflecting the Foundation’s commitment to improving care for people with Parkinson’s disease by providing impactful interdisciplinary training courses.
“As a jointly accredited provider, the Parkinson’s Foundation is upholding its commitment to improving care for people with Parkinson’s by providing high-quality professional education training,. We look forward to the continued development of best-practice care trainings that are intentionally designed with the needs and perspectives of those leading Parkinson’s care.”
— John L. Lehr, President and CEO of the Parkinson’s Foundation
Accredit Continuing Education
This distinction enables the Foundation to accredit continuing education for multiple professions. The status is awarded by three global leaders in the field of accreditation – the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Learners will benefit from the new Joint Accreditation status as it provides an opportunity to earn interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) credits and learn from colleagues with different expertise while advancing their own.
The Foundation provides the latest PD care information while increasing access to free educational tools for clinicians and care team members. Multiple accredited and non-accredited online training courses are currently offered to health professionals including movement disorder specialists, neurologists, psychologists, physical and occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, nurses and more.
“Interprofessional education and team-based care is a critical component of treatment for someone with a complex disease like Parkinson’s. By offering interprofessional continuing education credits, we aim to improve healthcare professionals’ performance and competence in the Parkinson’s care space.”
— Elizabeth Pollard, Vice President and Chief Education and Training Officer
The Foundation’s newest course for joint accreditation is Genetic Counseling for Parkinson’s Disease, created in collaboration with genetics experts from the Parkinson Study Group and Indiana University. In this course, participants will gain an understanding of which genes and variants are important for PD and how to apply this knowledge to clinical practice.
This includes guidance on identifying genetic testing and counseling resources, as well as increasing participants’ ability to discuss the heritability of PD and genetic predisposition for passing on the disease to family members. The free course will offer continuing education to physicians, physician assistants and nurses.
Those looking to enhance their PD care knowledge while earning continuing education credits (CEUs) can benefit from other expert online courses available through the Foundation, including: Nurse Course (9 CEUs), Physical Therapy Course (15 CEUs), and the Parkinson’s Foundation Professional Talk Series: Interprofessional Care Team Approach to Cognitive Changes in Parkinson’s (3.5 CEUs).
Alongside the accredited course offerings is a non-accredited, 5-hour Physical Therapy Introductory Course to understand how to evaluate, treat and deliver comprehensive PD care.
In addition to its roster of online courses, the Foundation strives to make a difference for health professionals by offering Parkinson’s Foundation Team Training, a Physical Therapy Faculty Program, The Edmond J. Safra Visiting Nurse Faculty Program, and other resources such as publications, webinars, and fact sheets to share with the PD community.
[Source(s): Parkinson’s Foundation, PR Newswire]
