Pharmacology for the Rehabilitation Therapist

Course Description

This course covers common pharmacology and its relevance to the practice of rehabilitation therapists across the continuum of care. Pharmacological principles including pharmacokinetics are reviewed in basics and the majority of the time is spent covering major classes of drugs. A broad variety of classes are covered, including those used to treat autonomic, cardiovascular, central nervous system, musculoskeletal and endocrine disorders. Case examples are used to illustrate the interactions of medications and patient presentation in order for the rehabilitation therapist to make clinical decisions on the care of their patient. The emphasis on this course is commonly encountered medications across the continuum of care.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

• Describe the interchangeable relationship between rehabilitation therapy and medication including how therapeutic interventions affect the patient’s response to medication and how medication affects the patient’s response to therapy.
• Discuss the current pharmacological options used for dysfunction related to the central nervous system, musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, endocrine system, and immune system.
• Discuss the current pharmacological options used for pain, inflammation, infectious disease, and oncological treatment.
• Integrate understanding of medications on patient profile and impact on therapy progression and intervention given a patient scenario.

• Prerequisites

  None

• Educational Level

  Basic

• Other

  Satisfactory completion of this course will require the participant to complete a 10 question post-test with a minimum passing score of 70%.