Resources for Health Professionals

Introduction

ATSDR’s environmental medicine education products for health professionals have been revised and refreshed to better meet needs for continuing education in a demanding professional climate. All of these products include current environmental medicine content drawn from peer-reviewed medical literature. In addition, these education products provide the latest information on evidence-based diagnosis and treatment. Each product offers free, accredited continuing education and is available and downloadable online.

Case Studies in Environmental Medicine

ATSDR Case Studies in Environmental Medicine (CSEM) are self-instructional, continuing-education primers designed to increase primary care providers’ knowledge of hazardous substances and aid in the evaluation of patients potentially exposed to hazardous substances. Each CSEM comes with additional companion products such as Grand Rounds in Environmental Medicine and Patient Education and Care Instruction Sheets.

For more information and access to the ATSDR CSEM page, please visit https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.html.

Grand Rounds in Environmental Medicine

ATSDR Grand Rounds in Environmental Medicine (GREM) are 1-hour, continuing-education seminars and video Web streams designed for medical educators, health-care providers, and other professionals involved in environmental health. GREM can be use for face-to-face education and are available in two versions: GREM Instructional Presentation Kits and GREM Web Stream Presentations. These consist of a detailed script, PowerPoint slides, learner support materials, Patient Education and Care Instruction Sheets, and video Web streams.

For more information and access to the ATSDR GREM page, please visit https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/emes/health_professionals/grem.html.

Patient Education and Care Instruction Sheets

ATSDR Patient Education and Care Instruction Sheets complement the newly developed or revised CSEM and GREM topics. These job aids give health-care providers ready-to-use materials to aid in patient care.

For more information and access to the ATSDR Patient Education page, please visit https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/emes/health_professionals/instruction
_sheets.html.

PEHSU National Classroom

The PEHSUs, which are funded by ATSDR, have launched a website for the public and healthcare practitioners to aid in the prevention of environmental exposures among children. This newly structured resource houses the PEHSU National Classroom which allows healthcare professionals access to resources, webinars, and interactive online courses on various topics relating to environmental health.

The Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units are dedicated to increasing knowledge about environmental medicine among healthcare professionals around children’s environmental health. Many of the environmental risks that lead to ill health can be lessened or prevented with proper healthcare provider education and preparation. Healthcare providers are well-positioned to deliver care and health education needed to protect children from environmental threats and to share information with colleagues. PEHSU National Classroom home page

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Additional Educational Products for Health Professionals

A Story of Health

When disease strikes, people often ask their doctors “how did this happen to me?” As a health professional or scientist, you know the causes of a specific case are often difficult to determine. At the same time you want to keep up with current research about the interactions between genes and environmental conditions that can influence good health or disease.

A Story of Health, a new illustrated multi-media eBook that offers continuing education credits (CE), provides the latest research on several diseases in a fictional case-based format. The first installment describes the lives of five characters and their families – Brett, a young boy with asthma; Amelia, a teenager with developmental disabilities; and toddler Stephen, recently diagnosed with leukemia; and Reiko and Toshio, a young couple dealing with infertility. Each story features the latest scientific research about disease origin and helpful facts about disease prevention.

A Story of Health was developed through collaboration among the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE), the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency (OEHHA), the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN), and the University of California, San Francisco, Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (UCSF PEHSU).

The following four stories are available online for free continuing education. After reading each story, please click on the Continuing Education (CE) Registration links to register for free CE and take the CE test.

Story of Health	Continuing Education Registration
Asthma- Brett’s Story	Registration for Asthma – Brett’s Story
Learning/Developmental Disabilities – Amelia’s Story	Registration for Amelia’s Story
Leukemia- Stephen’s Story	Registration for Stephen’s Story
Infertility – Reiko and Toshios’ Story	Registration for Reiko and Toshio’s Story

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Continuing Education Module

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a rapidly progressive neuro-degenerative disease. It belongs to a group of disorders known as motor neuron diseases, which are characterized by the gradual degeneration and death of motor neurons. These diseases cause loss of ability to trigger specific muscles, which results in the muscles becoming weak and ultimately leading to paralysis. This educational module provides

• A clinical overview on ALS
• Current clinical practice recommendations for diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with ALS, including communication strategies
• Information on the importance of standard diagnostic coding procedures for diagnosis of ALS patients in clinical practice
• Information on the new National ALS Registry and the importance of ALS patient self enrollment in the registry

For more information and access to the ATSDR ALS Continuing Education Module page, please visit https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/emes/ALS/.

For more information and access to the ATSDR ALS Continuing Education Course Registration and Posttest, please visit https://www2a.cdc.gov/TCEOnline/registration/detailpage.asp?res_id=4596.

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Assessment of Chemical Exposures Training

The Assessment of Chemical Exposures (ACE) training introduces how to perform an epidemiologic assessment after a chemical incident. It also describes the ACE Toolkit, which contains surveys, consent forms, databases, and training materials that are useful in responding to or preparing for a chemical release.

Available at: https://cdc.train.org/DesktopModules/eLearning/CourseDetails/CourseDetailsForm.aspx?courseId=1060828

ACE is part of the National Toxic Substance Incidents Program (NTSIP), a federal program at the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

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Child Development, Resilience and the Environment

This is a recorded presentation that discusses the many complex interactions that affect health both positively and negatively. The presentation focuses on how environmental exposures and social experiences, particularly during early life, can contribute to resilient outcomes.

Learning Objectives

• Explain an “ecological framework” in regards to health.
• Identify early life factors that can affect adult health.
• Explain “critical time windows.”
• Explain how resilience can help mitigate negative early life factors.
• Discuss environmental justice and its interaction with vulnerability and resilience

http://www.pehsuclassroom.net/lms/index.php?r=course/details&id=76

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Emergency Risk Communication

Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication is an approach to communicating effectively during emergencies. These principles are used by public health professionals and public information officers to provide information that helps individuals, stakeholders, and entire communities make the best possible decisions for themselves and their loved ones. CERC recognizes that during emergencies, we work under impossible time constraints and must accept the imperfect nature of our choices. CERC draws from lessons learned during public health emergencies and research in the fields of public health and emergency risk communication.
https://emergency.cdc.gov/CERC/index.asp

Self-instruction Course: Risk Communication. This course was developed in conjunction with the Pan American Health Organization to create and strengthen skills for the communication of health risks associated with the environment, using methodologies with theoretical and practical approaches applicable in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese at http://www.bvsde.ops-oms.org/tutorial6/i/

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Relocation Stress

The Relocation Stress Fact Sheet helps providers assisting individuals and families dealing with stress following relocation due to a disaster. It focuses on the entire family from adolescents to the elderly. Basic information about signs of stress as well as how to help those affected is provided

Access the Relocation Assistance fact sheet at https://atsdr-dev.cdc.gov/emes/health_professionals/documents/relocationstress_508.pdf.

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Surviving Field Stress for First Responders

Surviving Field Stress for First Responders is a video web stream course designed to help first responders and those they assist to be prepared for the stressors of twenty-first century disasters.
Developed in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency.

For more information and access to the Surviving Stress for First Responders page, please visit https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/emes/health_professionals/surviving_field_stress.html

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Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit Training Module

ATSDR Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit Training Module is an environmental health anticipatory guidance training module that introduces pediatric health care providers to the Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit and provides instruction on environmental health and use of toolkit materials.

For more information and access to the ATSDR Pediatric Environmental Health Training page, please visit http://www.psr.org/resources/pediatric-toolkit.html.

For more information and access to the ATSDR Pediatric Environmental Health Toolkit Training Course Registration and Posttest, please visit https://www2a.cdc.gov/TCEOnline/registration/detailpage.asp?res_id=4265.

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ATSDR Environmental Medicine Education Resources

Continuing education is available free of charge for all ATSDR environmental medicine educational course work.

For more information and access to continuing education offerings, please visit the ATSDR Continuing Education Site at https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/conteduc.html.

Disclaimer and Disclosure

The medical information provided in these courses is for educational use only.
For more information on product limitation, please see the full disclaimer.

Contact Information

For additional information about Environmental Medicine Education Products, please email atsdrdtemce@cdc.gov.

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