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Asthma is a chronic disease that occurs across all age-groups and healthcare professionals in virtually every setting can expect to care for patients with asthma. Asthma is not only seen in school-age children, it is seen among adults, older adults, and in pregnant women, as well as in occupational settings. Advances in our understanding of asthma and its treatment have implications for the continuing education of all healthcare providers. Clinical studies illuminate how best to optimize asthma control, while minimizing associated risks, and present a clear methodology for healthcare providers to use. This course is steeped in evidence-based research findings with the goal of optimizing the healthcare provider’s approach to caring for patients with asthma.
The purpose of this course is to enable respiratory therapists to incorporate the most current evidence-based guidelines for the management and treatment of patients with asthma into their clinical practice. Asthma epidemiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, diagnosis, disease management, associated conditions, and asthma education are discussed, as well as the Guidelines from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program’s (NAEPP).
- Recognize asthma as a major public health problem across all age groups and discuss the impact of asthma as a chronic inflammatory disease.
- Outline common asthma triggers and recommend environmental control as part of patient and family asthma education.
- Determine when the use of quick-relief and long-term control medications are appropriate in the management of asthma and recommend the appropriate delivery devices as well as explain how asthma is diagnosed and its severity assessed.
- Infer how the child’s stage of development impacts (or influences) asthma management.
- Discuss the unique features of asthma in adults and how comorbid conditions and the aging process affect the care of older adults with asthma.
- Point out how the course of asthma changes during pregnancy and how these changes impact asthma management.
- Identify signs and symptoms of exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) and provide basic education to the patient and family regarding control of EIB and participation in sports.
- Recognize the impact of allergic diseases, such as atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis, on optimal asthma control.
- Outline the link between obesity and asthma and how it affects asthma management.
- Summarize the signs and symptoms of an acute asthma exacerbation.
- Explain the role of written asthma action plans in the long-term management of asthma, illustrate appropriate asthma teaching strategies and asthma education as a critical component of comprehensive asthma management, and identify alternative or complementary therapies and the reasons that people with asthma seek these alternatives.
- Identify the steps in planning and implementing an asthma education program.
Karen S. Rance, DNP, RN, CPNP, AE-C
, is an allergy, asthma, and immunology specialty nurse practitioner who received her doctorate in nursing practice from the University of Virginia. She is in private practice at Allergy Partners of Central Indiana in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Rance is an adjunct online faculty member at Indiana Wesleyan University, Graduate School of Nursing.
Dr. Rance is the 2004 and 2011 recipient of the Allied Health Award for outstanding clinical project from the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology. She has presented at multiple national conferences on the topic of allergy and asthma, and regularly speaks to a broad spectrum of healthcare provider audiences on the topic of allergies and asthma. She has authored manuscripts for numerous medical journals including the Journal for Nurse Practitioners, Journal of Asthma and Allergy Educators, Journal of Pediatric Health Care, Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Dr. Rance serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Certified Asthma Educators (NAECB) and is on the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI)’s National Asthma Education Prevention Program Expert Panel (NAEPP) workgroup. She is the Founding Chair of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners’ (NAPNAP) Asthma and Allergy Special Interest Group. She is on NAPNAP’s Clinical Expert Panel for Asthma. She is involved in many community support programs, including the Indiana Joint Asthma Coalition where she is directing the implementation of a statewide asthma action plan.
Sindee Karpel, MPA, RRT, AE-C, has been a respiratory therapist since 1981 and is currently Professor of Cardiopulmonary Sciences and Respiratory Care at Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, FL. Sindee has a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology from Queens College of the City University of New York (1974), a two-year certificate in Respiratory Care from New York University Medical Center Bellevue Hospital (1980), and a master of public administration degree in healthcare administration from Long Island University (1986). Previously she was an associate professor of Allied Health Sciences at the Borough of Manhattan Community College of the City University of New York and was assistant director of the Respiratory Therapy Department at Queens Hospital Center in New York City. Sindee was a founding board member of the National Asthma Educator Certification Board and served from 2000 to 2004. She is a Certified Asthma Educator with the NAECB, Certificate #13. Sindee has been a member of the Southwest Florida COPD Community Team since January 2010 and has volunteered with the American Lung Association of Florida and the Asthma and Allergy Network, Mothers of Asthmatics, in various capacities. She has authored workbooks, test banks, and peer-reviewed articles over the course of her 34 years in the profession and has spoken numerous times at conferences in Florida and New York. Sindee also has had asthma since age 7.
- Contact hours will be awarded for up to one (1) year from the date the course is ordered, unless otherwise indicated with an expiration date.
- You must score 75% or higher on the final exam and complete the course evaluation to pass this course and receive a certificate of completion.
- Through our review processes, Western Schools ensures that this course content is presented in a balanced, unbiased manner and is free from commercial influence. It is Western Schools’ policy not to accept commercial support.
- All persons involved in the planning and development of this course have disclosed no relevant financial relationships or other conflicts of interest related to the course content.