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Curriculum in IDD Healthcare eLearn

IDD Healthcare Fundamentals for Clinicians, by a Clinician

Uniquely designed for immediate use by Medical and Nursing Schools Allied Health Professional Schools Residency Programs Practicing Physicians Nurse Practitioners Physician Assistants Practicing Nurses Allied Health Professionals

The Curriculum in IDD Healthcare (CIDDH) teaches the fundamentals of IDD healthcare, providing learners with pertinent, practical information that can be used immediately in their practices to improve outcomes, reduce suffering, and prevent unnecessary death in their patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

This course is currently incorporated by medical and nurse practitioner schools, state agencies, and numerous clinical organizations and individual physicians who desire to improve clinical knowledge in this area.

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Preview the Curriculum in IDD Healthcare eLearn to find out why practicing clinicians are calling for it to be "mandatory for all medical students."

Course Overview

The Curriculum in IDD Healthcare consists of 6 modules that teach practical skills that improve clinical competence in the provision of healthcare to people with IDD.

Numerous, real-world case studies are used to illustrate concepts that help students and clinicians at any level to improve their skillset and provide competent, compassionate healthcare to people with complex neurodevelopmental, medical and mental health conditions.

Synopsis by Module

Module Length: 37 Minutes

Diagnosis, causes, prevalence, and classifications are covered. The history of IDD treatment and the reasons for the move from institutional to community-based support are covered and much more.

Module Length: 1 Hour 2 Minutes

A discussion of common medical issues, their presentations and general treatment options are covered. This discussion includes the “Fatal 5+” – Constipation, Aspiration, Dehydration, Seizures and Sepsis, as well as other topics like GERD, osteoporosis, contraception, feeding tubes, wheelchairs, end-of-life considerations and basic dental issues.

Module Length: 34 Minutes

Using real-life case studies, this module effectively illustrates how numerous challenging behaviors may point to specific, underlying medical conditions in people with IDD. Topics include head-banging, refusing meals, hand-mouth behavior, aggressiveness in particular situations, resisting lying down or sleeping, pica and many more.

Module Length: 46 Minutes

This module covers the challenges of diagnosing mental health conditions in people with IDD. It covers how certain non-verbal behaviors may point to a mental health condition and the importance of evaluating for underlying medical conditions before instituting treatment for adverse behaviors with psychotropic medications.

Module Length: 31 Minutes

This talk covers topics including understanding the differing baselines of people with IDD, fostering good communication between healthcare providers and support staff, speaking TO the person who is the patient rather than directing communication to the support staff, how to garner the most helpful information from support staff, and understanding the structure of the team model of support.

Module Length: 34 Minutes

While case studies are sprinkled through the other presentations, this enjoyable and highly interactive workshop-type module focuses on specific cases to drive home the previously discussed topics illustrating practical applications of the information.

About the Author

Curriculum in IDD Healthcare was developed and is delivered by Dr. Craig Escudé, who has over 20 years of clinical experience in treating people with severe and profound levels of IDD and extensive experience in training hundreds of clinicians, case managers, social workers, direct support professionals and others who work in this field. He is also one of a handful of Fellows of the American Academy of Family Physicians (FAAFP) and the American Academy of Developmental Medicine (FAADM). 

Click here to read more about Dr. Escudé

Continuing Education Credit Information

The 5 hours of AAFP Prescribed CME credit for CIDDH is accepted by ANCC, as well as the following organizations:

  • American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)
  • National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)
  • American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB)
  • American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA)
  • American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM)
  • American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM)
  • American Board of Preventative Medicine (ABPM)
  • American Board of Urology (ABU)

The 6 CEU credit hours are accredited through the Ohio Board of Nursing and transferrable to most states; participants will need to verify eligibility with their state boards of nursing.

IntellectAbility Recognized Provider in IDD Healthcare Award

Besides earning valuable Physician CME or Nursing CEU credit, clinicians who complete the course are eligible to receive the IntellectAbility Recognized Provider in IDD Healthcare award indicating their commitment to providing quality healthcare to people with IDD. 

Unlock the Language of Behavior

Learn the fundamentals of IDD healthcare and gain pertinent, practical information that can be used immediately in healthcare practices.

Studies & Testimonials Validate the Efficacy of this Course

Independent, Peer-Reviewed Study

An independent, peer-reviewed study demonstrated that the Curriculum in IDD Healthcare is effective in improving clinicians’ knowledge of IDD healthcare.

From the study’s authors, John P. Bartkowski and Xiaohe Xu: 

“Highly effective results were especially evident in measures of the program overall, where the presentations were rated with respect to expectations, improvement of a trainee’s medical practice, presenter knowledge, and willingness to recommend the training to others.”

“CIDDH often proved to be quite effective. In many cases, superlative (highest possible) ratings outnumbered the combination of mid-range and deficient ratings by a factor of 3 to 1, meeting or exceeding the 75% superlative response threshold.”

“By addressing the unique needs of individuals with IDD, healthcare training programs like CIDDH can reduce health disparities and improve the quality of life among patients with IDD.”
 

Study by William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine

A study was conducted by William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine about the efficacy of IntellectAbility’s Curriculum in IDD Healthcare eLearning course in teaching medical students about the fundamentals of IDD Healthcare. 

Based on the data, the researchers concluded the online course was successful in increasing the student’s knowledge of IDD healthcare, confidence in treating people with IDD, and maximum ability to deliver effective medical care to people with IDD. 

Here is a graph depicting the results of the study taken from the poster presented at the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine’s Education Leaders 2021 conference.

Click here to read more about this study

William-Carey-University-IDDC-Pilot-Project-Poster

Clinician Testimonials

E.G., RN, BSN, CDDN, Medical Services Director

I highly recommend the Curriculum in IDD Healthcare to any nurse. I have had rave reviews from new nurses to veterans. The courses are educational and use person-first language and show great respect for individuals and their care team. I hope as clinicians learn more about disabilities, they will also pick up this humane approach.

Jo L. Harbour, MD

This course should be mandatory for all medical students. [It] would also benefit mid-level providers and nurses - in fact, providers from every discipline and level of experience would benefit from this course!

Julie Chrisholm, FNP-C

All medical providers and dentists should be required to take this course, and in my current job assisting IDD clients, I had no training or exposure to IDD healthcare. This is a wonderfully condensed program full of valuable information.

Stephen Kelly, DO

High Yield Material, flexible completion time. This is great information for someone new to caring for IDD patients. Maybe in a few years you could do a second level course!"

Devel Unadkat, DO, MPA, FACEP, CMO, StationMD

These course were great. They were exactly what we were looking for. Thank you for doing this! As we grow we will certainly have all our providers take your modules.

E.G., RN, BSN, CDDN, Medical Services Director

I highly recommend the Curriculum in IDD Healthcare to any nurse. I have had rave reviews from new nurses to veterans. The courses are educational and use person-first language and show great respect for individuals and their care team. I hope as clinicians learn more about disabilities, they will also pick up this humane approach.

Jo L. Harbour, MD

This course should be mandatory for all medical students. [It] would also benefit mid-level providers and nurses - in fact, providers from every discipline and level of experience would benefit from this course!

Julie Chrisholm, FNP-C

All medical providers and dentists should be required to take this course, and in my current job assisting IDD clients, I had no training or exposure to IDD healthcare. This is a wonderfully condensed program full of valuable information.

Stephen Kelly, DO

High Yield Material, flexible completion time. This is great information for someone new to caring for IDD patients. Maybe in a few years you could do a second level course!"

Devel Unadkat, DO, MPA, FACEP, CMO, StationMD

These course were great. They were exactly what we were looking for. Thank you for doing this! As we grow we will certainly have all our providers take your modules.

Medical Student Testimonials

Andrew George, 1st year medical student, WCUCOM

I really liked the way the information was presented (flow of information, conciseness, relevant examples from experiences, etc.) The quality of information in this online course is one the best i have had!

Chloe Telles, medical student, WCUCOM

After completing these modules, I appreciate the new perspective on diagnosing and managing healthcare for those with IDD. This training shares so much knowledge that builds upon what we have covered in medical school lectures. I appreciate this opportunity to learn more about IDD and how to adjust what we have learned in the classroom to better diagnose and treat these patients. It provided an entirely different perspective reliant on visual and behavioral cues. This exceeded my expectations. Thank you.

Z.E., 3rd year medical student, WCUCOM

The modules were easy to use. The material was professional and well presented.

N.U. 4th year medical student, WCUCOM

The layout was very well organized. I liked how it provided lists of questions and things to consider when dealing with IDD patients. There was good practical advice about things we could start asking immediately.

Andrew George, 1st year medical student, WCUCOM

I really liked the way the information was presented (flow of information, conciseness, relevant examples from experiences, etc.) The quality of information in this online course is one the best i have had!

Chloe Telles, medical student, WCUCOM

After completing these modules, I appreciate the new perspective on diagnosing and managing healthcare for those with IDD. This training shares so much knowledge that builds upon what we have covered in medical school lectures. I appreciate this opportunity to learn more about IDD and how to adjust what we have learned in the classroom to better diagnose and treat these patients. It provided an entirely different perspective reliant on visual and behavioral cues. This exceeded my expectations. Thank you.

Z.E., 3rd year medical student, WCUCOM

The modules were easy to use. The material was professional and well presented.

N.U. 4th year medical student, WCUCOM

The layout was very well organized. I liked how it provided lists of questions and things to consider when dealing with IDD patients. There was good practical advice about things we could start asking immediately.

Contact Us Today to Get Started

Better diagnose and treat patients with pertinent and practical advice that you can immediately implement. 

When We Educate Clinicians, We Save Lives

“It’s more than just learning about how to treat medical conditions commonly seen in people with IDD like aspiration pneumonia and bowel obstruction. Physicians should be taught about the support structure for people with IDD, how to facilitate better communication and, most importantly, about the often-missed direct relationship of various adverse behaviors to treatable, underlying medical causes.”

Improve Healthcare for Anyone Who Has Challenges in Communicating Verbally

Watch this two minute video to learn how Curriculum in IDD Healthcare eLearn imparts vital skills and information to improve healthcare for anyone who has challenges in communicating verbally. This includes people with dementia, traumatic brain injury, those who are aging, children and the group for which the course was specifically designed, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The National Council on Disability Supports IDD Training for All Healthcare Professional Schools

One of the four major components of the National Council on Disability’s Health Equity Framework includes: “requiring comprehensive disability clinical-care curricula in all US medical, nursing and other healthcare professional schools and requiring disability competency education and training of medical, nursing and other healthcare professionals.” Click here to read more.

View the NCD’s Equity Action Plan.

Learn More About the Need to Educate Healthcare Providers in IDD Healthcare

  • Click here to read real accounts from nurses about negative physician encounters. 
  • Click here to watch a 30-minute recorded webinar delivered by our President and this course’s author, Dr. Craig Escudé.

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