Course:	Asthma 401
ID:	A401
Options:	View Course Schedule, Enroll in Live Course

What It Is

Asthma 401 is a live course conducted by telephone, with classes once each week for 8 weeks. You phone in to a central number from the comfort of your home, and are connected to the instructors and your colleagues. There are no travel costs, no hotel expenses, and no airport stresses. All you need is a quiet environment and two hours once a week for eight weeks. Aside from registration fees and the costs of training materials, the only other costs are your own long-distance charges to connect to our US teleclass number (typically, $3 per hour ).

The Asthma 401 difference

When you attend a “traditional” education course, you spend two or three full – and tiring – days listening to lectures for 8 or more hours each day. You do not get a chance to understand and assimilate what you have learned, and often will come away with a great deal of information, but no clear plan of how to use it. The notes you make may be difficult to decipher after the flood of information, so that you feel confused and overwhelmed. You may have problems understanding the sequence of activity required to successfully teach a patient.

What makes Asthma 401 different:

Asthma 401 is different. With Asthma 401, you receive

• 8 stress-free classes spanning eight weeks.
• a structured course that takes you step by step from a basic understanding of asthma and its pathophysiology to teaching patients and helping them cope with this chronic disease
• guidance from an instructor who is one of North America’s leading asthma educators
• input from a guest instructor who shares her experiences with you
• a binder so that the notes and handouts from each class can be organized for ease of reference later
• notes and handouts that allow you to concentrate on listening instead of making notes
• not just the minimum of information you need, but as much as you want
• information and references for the latest studies in every pertinent area
• one class every week that addresses one major topic in detail
• medical and teaching tips in every class, that you can start to use immediately
• personal attention - the small class size ensures so that you get the maximum benefit of a small group
• after-class access to instructors who provide extra help, review and/or explanations that you may require

Asthma 401 also provides:

• an interactive format that allows you to network with health care professionals from across the US
• lively discussion with other health care professionals
• immediate answers to your questions
• instructors who are available by phone or e-mail to help you with any questions you might have after the teleclass

Asthma 401's unhurried pace allows to you to learn more, to learn it better, and to put your new knowledge to work immediately.

Asthma 401 uses the “progressive” teaching approach to help you build your knowledge base systematically. But more than that, it helps you apply what you have learned and to practice it so that you develop and improve your teaching skills.

And when you complete Asthma 401, your binder (with its course handouts and your notes) becomes a handy tool you can refer to at any time.

To find out what participants or graduates of Asthma 401 have had to say about this course, click here.

What you will learn

Asthma 401 emphasizes the essential skills needed to make you a better educator. It covers every topic needed for the AE-C examination, including:

• Asthma and its pathophysiology
• Measures of assessment and monitoring
• Classification of severity
• Differential diagnoses
• Age-related problems in asthma
• When to refer patients to a specialist
• Control of asthma triggers
• Asthma medications and the patient
• Asthma medication devices and how to teach patients to use them
• Handling an asthma exacerbation
• Devising an Asthma Action Plan
• Co-morbidities of asthma including rhinitis, sinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux, etc.
• Asthma and pregnancy
• Anaphylaxis
• Teaching techniques
• Educating the patient with asthma
• Identifying psychosocial factors, socio-economic problems and educational needs
• How to teach patients of all ages
• How to plan a teaching session and what to teach
• Outcomes measurement - evaluating your educational efforts

Immediate value

The interactive format encourages discussion and comments. Each class provides teaching techniques and tips, which you can put to use even while you are learning. Asthma 401 stresses the practical application of knowledge. It also teaches you how to:

• discuss the essential topics with patients
• implement teaching techniques
• look at asthma from the patient’s perspective
• watch for hidden pitfalls when dealing with patients
• be aware of cultural problems that can arise