Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias: Symptoms, Stages, and Communication Strategies Expanded
About the Course
The purpose of this course is to provide healthcare workers with a deeper understanding of how to care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or another dementia. Learners can be the providers of direct care, staff in the community, at home, or in a residential environment. Lessons address symptoms and causes of AD, insight into other types of dementia, methods of diagnosis, cognitive and behavioral aspects of the disease, and ethical issues. There will be a review of disease symptoms, behavioral changes, and activities and environmental modifications that can be implemented and modified to improve care for the patient while providing support to the caregiver. Understanding the caregiver role in the life of an AD and/or dementia patient will be explored, as will medical treatment, research, and patient interaction. Disease (symptom) management will be expounded upon, with insight into stress management tools to provide support for the unique situations that can compound the lives of those affected. Standard care approaches for patients with AD and/or other dementia is reliant upon ethical care, a theme that will be present throughout the course.
Learning Outcomes
- Define dementia, the symptoms, and various types of dementia.
- Discuss Alzheimer’s disease to include the causes, history, and types.
- Evaluate the various stages of Alzheimer’s.
- Describe the impact of Alzheimer’s on the brain.
- Recognize variables and factors that have been identified as linkages to Alzheimer’s.
- Examine the steps taken for an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
- Define steps for best practices caring for a patient with Alzheimer’s.
- Describe appropriate activities to engage a patient with Alzheimer’s.
- Recognize the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on activities of daily living and independent activities of daily living within the disease stages.
- Recognize strategies to accommodate activities of daily living and independent activities of daily living.
- Recognize the behavioral changes according to the clinical stage of Alzheimer’s.
- Evaluate the importance of the environment, and mental and physical activity for improving the well-being of a patient with Alzheimer’s.
About the Author
Joy Siegel, EdD, MBA, has dedicated her professional life to building a strong community for improved health outcomes. She has consulted with more than 200 community-based organizations and led campaigns for societal issues such as homelessness, cancer, lifelong learning, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and the arts. Joy has designed annual funds, capital campaigns, social media campaigns, Medicare- and Medicaid-funded programs for dementia and mental illness, loneliness mitigation programs, and many special events for outreach and fundraising. When Joy’s mother was 59, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a life-altering diagnosis for herself and the family. Joy became an integral part of her mother’s care team. She also went back to school and earned a doctoral degree in organizational leadership and gerontology and began working in the healthcare sector with providers, plans, systems, and communities to create and deliver programs promoting nonclinical aspects of wellness. Joy most recently worked with a regional Medicare Advantage plan designing retention and outreach programs and pilots designed to improve health and minimize loneliness. She is on the faculty at the Nova Southeastern University’s Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine and teaches public health to future healthcare leaders. Her career is an aggregate of personal, professional, and academic experiences that have shown her that community is often the answer. Joy has more than 100 hours of continuing education programs running nationally for allied health professionals, providers, and administrators.
How to Receive Credit
- Read the entire course online or in print.
- Answer the final examination questions at the end of the course. A passing grade of 75% is required. Test questions link content to learning objectives as a method to enhance individualized learning and material retention.
- Provide required personal information and payment information.
- Complete the mandatory course evaluation.
- Print your Certificate of Completion.
Resolution of Conflict of Interest*
Planners, faculty, and others in control of content (either individually or as a group) have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.
Sponsorship/Commercial Support and Non-Endorsement
It is the policy of Colibri Healthcare, LLC not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this activity is for continuing education purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the independent medical judgment of a healthcare provider relative to diagnostic and treatment options of a specific patient’s medical condition.
©2022: All Rights Reserved. Materials may not be reproduced without the expressed written permission or consent of Colibri Healthcare, LLC. The materials presented in this course are meant to provide the consumer with general information on the topics covered. The information provided was prepared by professionals with practical knowledge of the areas covered. It is not meant to provide medical, legal, or professional advice. Colibri Healthcare, LLC recommends that you consult a medical, legal, or professional services expert licensed in your state. Colibri Healthcare, LLC has made all reasonable efforts to ensure that all content provided in this course is accurate and up to date at the time of printing but does not represent or warrant that it will apply to your situation nor circumstances and assumes no liability from reliance on these materials. Quotes are collected from customer feedback surveys. The models are intended to be representative and not actual customers.
Accreditations and Approvals
Colibri Healthcare, LLC is accredited as a provider?of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
Colibri Healthcare, LLC is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.
Colibri Healthcare, LLC is designated as a Nationally Approved PACE Program Provider for FAGD/MAGD credit. Approval does not imply acceptance by any regulatory authority or AGD endorsement. Current approval period is 1/1/2022 to 12/31/2025; Provider ID# 217536.
AGD - 750
Colibri Healthcare, LLC (formerly Elite Professional Education, LLC), Provider Number 1147, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 5/5/2023 – 5/5/2026.
Colibri Healthcare, LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Colibri Healthcare, LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Most states accept courses offered by APA approved sponsors.
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