Course Location:
IU Health Methodist Hospital
1701 N. Senate Blvd, Indianapolis, IN 46202
Floor G, DG 422 A/B
Course Description:
The course is designed to promote education and training for rehabilitation therapists and nurses on the procedures and screening methods for visual impairment across the continuum of care. Screening methods will aid practitioners in better identifying age- related pathological change and/or an acquired change in visual status secondary to neurological incidence. Course topics will also include interpretation of optometry documentation, as rehab therapists and nurses may glean insight into the functional barriers secondary to altered visual status. Practitioners will learn the importance and benefits to team collaboration with optometry for best patient outcomes. Rehabilitation specialists will learn the importance of understanding visual function and how it relates to safety with mobility.
The course will outline procedures for instructing clients and caregivers on the use of sighted guide technique and self protection techniques specific to persons with visual disability.
Course Objectives:
At the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify clients with visual impairment and describe the immediate environmental modifications required to improve safety, comfort, and participation in daily activities including scheduled therapies
- Predict the need for optometric referral and consultation of vision rehab services
- Describe the impact of visual status on functional outcomes and communicate barriers for team conference contributions, team collaboration, and/or family/caregiver education
- Summarize screening findings to the attending physician and consulting optometrist in use of a collaborative model
- Identify and integrate intervention modifications for the client with visual impairment specific to their visual needs
- Associate optometry documentation and exam findings with functional outcomes and barriers to safety
- Identify visual signs and symptoms associated with age-related pathological change versus newly acquired, diagnoses specific neurological change
- Summarize the proper and safe use of sighted guide and self-protection techniques for participation in functional and community mobility related tasks for applicable clients
- Define the anatomy and physiology of the visual system and gross systems integration
At the end of this course, PTA specific participants will be able to:
- Determine the impact of visual status on functional outcomes and communicate barriers for team conference contributions, team collaboration, and/or family/caregiver education
- Initiate intervention modifications for the client with visual impairment specific to their visual needs
- Interpret optometry and supervising physical therapist documentation and relate exam/evaluation findings to functional outcomes and visual barriers to safety
Course Education Level: Introductory