Introduction

Worldwide, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in persons aged less than 45 years. It is estimated that between 64 and 74 million new TBI diagnoses occur annually worldwide, with the majority of the cases being mild and moderate in severity. TBI is a significant concern to public health and rehabilitation professionals as it is associated with both acute and long-term disabilities.

The Rancho Los Amigos Level of Cognitive Functioning Scale, commonly known as The Rancho Scale, is a widely used tool in the cognitive and behavioural assessment of persons following a TBI. It considers both the patient’s state of consciousness and the level of assistance they require to complete cognitive and physical functions. It can be used to facilitate communication among the multidisciplinary team to better understand the patient’s abilities, impairments, and prognosis. The real-time nature of therapy interventions provides an ideal opportunity to assess and assign a Rancho Level based on a patient’s abilities and behaviours. This course introduces the Rancho Los Amigos Level of Cognitive Functioning Scale, overviews the descriptive levels of the Scale, discusses clinical techniques and interventions to help manage patient behaviours during assessment, and discusses the Scale’s clinical and prognostic value.

Aims

This course aims to introduce rehabilitation professionals to the method and interpretation of the Rancho Los Amigos Level of Cognitive Functioning Scale.

Outline

This course is made up of videos, reading, forum posts and a final quiz. The course content is split into the following sections:

1. Video
2. Reading activity
3. Quiz

Target audience

This course is aimed at Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy clinicians, students and assistants. Other interested professionals such as athletic trainers, occupational therapists, nurses or medical doctors interested in this subject are also invited to participate.