Parkinson's Foundation Awarded Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education

NEW YORK and MIAMI, Feb. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Parkinson's Foundation announced that is has been granted Joint Accreditation^™ for Interprofessional Continuing Education as a provider of continuing education. This designation was earned by meeting rigorous standards for delivering continued education planned by and for healthcare teams. The status is a symbol of quality reflecting the Foundation's commitment to improving care for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) by providing impactful interdisciplinary training courses.

"As a jointly accredited provider, the Parkinson's Foundation is upholding its commitment to improving care for people with Parkinson's by providing high-quality professional education training," said John L. Lehr, President and CEO of the Parkinson's Foundation. "We look forward to the continued development of best-practice care trainings that are intentionally designed with the needs and perspectives of those leading Parkinson's care."

This distinction enables the Foundation to accredit continuing education for multiple professions. The status is awarded by three global leaders in the field of accreditation – the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Learners will benefit from the new Joint Accreditation status as it provides an opportunity to earn interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) credits and learn from colleagues with different expertise while advancing their own.

The Foundation provides the latest PD care information while increasing access to free educational tools for clinicians and care team members. Multiple accredited and non-accredited online training courses are currently offered to health professionals including movement disorder specialists, neurologists, psychologists, physical and occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, nurses and more.

"Interprofessional education and team-based care is a critical component of treatment for someone with a complex disease like Parkinson's," said Elizabeth Pollard, Vice President and Chief Education and Training Officer. "By offering interprofessional continuing education credits, we aim to improve healthcare professionals' performance and competence in the Parkinson's care space."

The Foundation's newest course for joint accreditation is Genetic Counseling for Parkinson's Disease, created in collaboration with genetics experts from the Parkinson Study Group and Indiana University. In this course, participants will gain an understanding of which genes and variants are important for PD and how to apply this knowledge to clinical practice. This includes guidance on identifying genetic testing and counseling resources, as well as increasing participants' ability to discuss the heritability of PD and genetic predisposition for passing on the disease to family members. The free course will offer continuing education to physicians, physician assistants and nurses.

Those looking to enhance their PD care knowledge while earning continuing education credits (CEUs) can benefit from other expert online courses available through the Foundation, including: Nurse Course (9 CEUs), Physical Therapy Course (15 CEUs), and the Parkinson's Foundation Professional Talk Series: Interprofessional Care Team Approach to Cognitive Changes in Parkinson's (3.5 CEUs). Alongside the accredited course offerings is a non-accredited, 5-hour Physical Therapy Introductory Course to understand how to evaluate, treat and deliver comprehensive PD care.

In addition to its roster of online courses, the Foundation strives to make a difference for health professionals by offering Parkinson's Foundation Team Training, a Physical Therapy Faculty Program, The Edmond J. Safra Visiting Nurse Faculty Program, and other resources such as publications, webinars and fact sheets to share with the PD community. For more information, visit Parkinson.org/ProfessionalEducation.

About the Parkinson's Foundation
The Parkinson's Foundation makes life better for people with Parkinson's disease by improving care and advancing research toward a cure. In everything we do, we build on the energy, experience and passion of our global Parkinson's community. Since 1957, the Parkinson's Foundation has invested more than $400 million in Parkinson's research and clinical care. Connect with us on Parkinson.org, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or call (800) 4PD-INFO (473-4636).

About Parkinson's Disease
Affecting an estimated one million Americans and 10 million worldwide, Parkinson's disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's and is the 14th-leading cause of death in the United States. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression), as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for Parkinson's and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone.

Media Contact:
Marissa Cruz
Parkinson's Foundation
[email protected]  
305-537-9926
Parkinson.org  

SOURCE Parkinson's Foundation