April 2005 • Vol. 1, No. 1
	Advancing Orthotic and Prosthetic Care Through Knowledge

ACADEMY Opens New Online Learning Center

Name To Honor Legacy of Paul E. Leimkuehler, CP

In mid-December, H. Craig Keyes, CP, was like hundreds of other practitioners who needed PCE credits to complete the minimum requirements for ABC recertification. Although his deadline for recertification is 2005, he didn’t have time to attend an Academy meeting, a chapter meeting, or even a supplier course. So he did what scores of other practitioners have done and looked on the Academy website for JPO quizzes that were worth two PCE credits each until he had reached the minimum needed.

Each year, more than a thousand certified practitioners are unable to attend an Academy meeting, the leading provider of quality continuing education programs in the O&P profession. About one-third of the Academy's active members attend the Annual Meeting each year, a number slightly more than the average attendance rate for professional societies.

"It's simple scheduling mathematics," explains Keyes. "There are only four practitioners in our group. We couldn't all go to the meeting at the same time; we'd have to close the offices." Other facilities echo that reasoning, citing costs of travel and the impact of time out of the office as key reasons for not being able to send all their practitioners. "Some practitioners either trade off with practitioners taking turns, or use some form of a lottery to decide who gets to go to the Academy meeting," adds Keyes.

Well, now there is another solution for those left behind. During the Annual Meeting in Orlando on March 16–19, the Academy announced the opening of its Online Learning Center, offering a variety of courses, short papers, and quick sessions via the Academy's website. The Center is named to honor the legacy of Paul E. Leimkuehler, a long-time member of the Academy and founder of Leimkuehler, Inc., and PEL Supply Company in Ohio.

The Leimkuehler family was present at the meeting to participate in the ceremony naming the center and to accept a plaque to memorialize the event.

The Center opens initially with two substantive courses based on information developed from the Clinical Standards of Practice (CSOP) consensus conferences on Orthotic Treatment of Idiopathic Scoliosis and Scheuermann's Kyphosis and Post- Operative Management of the Lower Extremity Amputee. Each includes a PowerPoint presentation, a number of readings, and a 100-question quiz that must be successfully completed to earn the PCE credits. The varying length and complexity of the course determine its rating by ABC; the scoliosis course is worth 16 PCEs, while the postoperative amputee course is worth ten.

The Online Learning Center will offer several types of online education, falling into one of three formats: audio-interactive, audio-visual and visual.

Audio-interactive online education sessions will be comprised of written text, video and audio of the presenter, PowerPoint presentation, chat session(s) with the presenter and email correspondence. Quizzes worth PCE credits will be a standard part of each session.

Example: Thranhardt Lecture speaker is videotaped during the presentation. The transcript of the live presentation and PowerPoint presentation are combined with the video on the website. Scheduled times for a "chat session with the speaker" will be arranged during the debut month for the course and an email address for later contact.

Audio-visual online education sessions will be comprised of the same elements as the audio-interactive, but not include chat sessions or email correspondence with the author.

Visual online education sessions will be composed of articles, case studies or research papers to which quizzes are attached to evaluate the participant’s understanding of the material.

FIRST COURSE ON SCOLIOSIS

The findings of the scoliosis conference were first published as a supplement to the JPO in October 2003. The online course module was later developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology's Orthotic and Prosthetic Program, and funded by a grant from the Academy’s Project Quantum Leap. Both the online study and exam provide a summary of the JPO supplement. Online users will be encouraged to review the JPO supplement as they complete the readings of the online course.

The course provides the user an overview of the etiology and natural history of idiopathic scoliosis and Scheuermann's kyphosis, the biomechanics of various orthotic designs in the treatment of these disorders, the current thinking on the efficacy of orthotic treatment, and an overview of the multidisciplinary approach to orthotic treatment. The Academy feels any orthotist or healthcare professional involved in the non-operative treatment of either of these disorders can benefit from this work.

The second course on Post-Operative Management of the Lower Extremity Amputee is also based on the JPO supplement published after the conference. Five postoperative care strategies were discussed by the conference committee: 1) soft dressings; 2) nonremovable rigid dressings without an immediate prosthetic attachment; 3) nonremovable rigid dressings with an immediate post-operative prosthesis; 4) removable rigid plaster dressings and 5) prefabricated post-operative prosthetic systems.

The committee defined care that should be considered during the postoperative rehabilitation protocol. These issues are directly related to improving mobility, enhancing healing, limb volume management, and improving outcomes. Each stage of care from the preoperative period to the late stages of postoperative rehabilitation is defined. Because the goals of care may change throughout rehabilitation, a simple, easy-to-use table of clinical concerns and treatment goals was created.

Wound healing is an area of significant controversy, and often the definitions of healed and healing vary from study to study. To aid the clinician and researcher in standardizing this often subjective area, categories of wound healing were created. Goals of care associated specifically with the amputation, such as pain management, fall prevention, and improved mobility are presented in the online course. And goals associated with overall patient care are also included, such as musculoskeletal reconditioning and cardiopulmonary training, contralateral lower limb preservation, emotional care, and minimizing systemic complications.

Additional sessions or courses will be developed outside the Academy and may be linked or housed in the Center.

The courses will be priced according to the complexity of the course itself and PCE credits earned. The scoliosis course, worth 16 PCE credits, will cost $225 for members and $450 for nonmembers, but during the initial rollout period the course will be offered for $99 for members and $199 for nonmembers. Similar pricing will be used for other courses.

JPO quizzes will also be part of the Online Learning Center and will continue to be $20 for members and $50 for nonmembers.