Summary
The course will review different antidepressant medications and the physiological effects they have on the body, as well as how these affect physiotherapy exercise prescription. Practical advice will be provided on how to gather information about different medications, and how to relate any medication effects a patient may have to the rest of the interdisciplinary team. Note - this course will not teach practical skills or lead to any clinical qualification or prescription rights.
Introduction
As part of a subjective evaluation a physiotherapist will ask a patient about their medication use. How should this information be used in clinical decision making? Without understanding the effects of the medications our patients use, their physiotherapy treatment cannot be optimised. We need to understand the effects, side effects, potential drug interactions and how these will influence ideal physiotherapy management.
Course aims
This course aims to provide you with an understanding of why it is important for the physiotherapist to understand how medication affects the body with a specific focus on antidepressants and exercise.
Hours of learning
Completing this course will involve approximately 1.3 hours of learning activities that can be completed on a participant’s own schedule.
Practicalities
Please note that no deadlines are applied and this course can be started and completed according to your own schedule. We expect the required elements to take around 1.3-2 hours depending on your schedule and learning style. Additionally there are many optional resources provided and if you choose to review these the course could take longer to complete.
It’s not going to be easy, we’ll expect you to work hard for your completion certificate and Physioplus points! You won’t be sitting back and watching webinars, we’ll expect you to reading tasks, complete quizzes, perform literature searches and other learning activities. You’ll need to reflect on your own experiences and contribute them within the discussion forum, this is where we can learn from each other’s experiences and knowledge from all around the world! At the end of the course, when you have completed all of the required elements, you will be able to download a certificate of completion and 1.3 Physioplus points will be added to your personalised learning dashboard.
Types of activities
Reading Physiopedia pages. Watching a video. Attempting quizzes. Participating in an international discussion forum.
Learning outcomes
At the end of this course you will be able to:
- explain why a physiotherapist should have knowledge of the side effects and interactions of the medications a patient is taking
- describe 4 physiological effects of antidepressants in relation to exercise and therapy
- describe the cause and 10 signs and symptoms of serotonin syndrome
Requirements to complete this course
In order to complete this course and receive a course completion certificate you will need to:
- abide by the Physiopedia Plus Community Culture
- log as completed all the required learning activities
- actively participate in the course forum discussions
- pass a final quiz with a score of 80% or more
- complete a course evaluation form
