Medical Errors Online CEU Course

As a therapeutic massage and bodywork professional, your aim is to provide your clients with the highest quality care possible. Regardless of what ails them when they walk into your office, be it a long standing chronic condition or a serious acute issue, you work tirelessly to provide your clients with immediate relief. And, just as importantly, you endeavor to ensure that they see long term, overall improvements in their health and wellbeing.

But before you can focus on providing your clients with the healing that they need, you must first and foremost see to it that you avoid worsening their condition. While this may sound obvious, it’s incredibly important. It’s so essential to the overall mission of medicine, in fact, that it shows up in the Hippocratic Oath, a pledge shared by providers throughout the allied health spectrum, in a clear and simple form: Primum non nocere. “First, do no harm.”

Obtaining the skill set necessary to avoid mistakes in your practice is more complex than it might seem at first. As a massage professional, you’ll need to understand the rules and regulations surrounding medical errors. Beyond that, though, you’ll also need to gain mastery of the how treatment protocols can fail; how to properly maintain and sanitize your massage equipment; what kind of record keeping to do; and, additionally, contraindications in the field of massage therapeutic bodywork.

This may sound like a lot to tackle, but don’t despair! Our online Medical Errors CEU course will provide you with in-depth training, and make you an authority when it comes to identifying and avoiding errors as a practitioner. As the premiere provider of online massage CEU courses, Panda Massage CEU™ is proud to offer this high quality, extensive program.

Keep in mind that as an NCBTMB Approved Provider, this course satisfies the requirement for a 2 hour CEU course in Prevention of Medical Errors. This licensure requirement exists in a number of states across the country,including Florida.

Below, you’ll find an overview of the learning objectives for this class, along with a detailed outline of the course’s content. This will give you a thorough understanding of what to expect after signing up for this course.

Learning Objectives for Our “Medical Errors” CEU Course

Before starting any continuing education course in massage therapy and bodywork, it’s important to take stock of the course’s learning outcomes. As a practitioner, this will give you a sense of what to expect from the course. And, as an adult learner, it will allow you to prepare yourself mentally for the information the course will cover, which will enhance your ability to understand, process, and retain the course content in its entirety.

From a big picture perspective, this class students with an extensive overview of the rules and regulations related to medical errors. The course examines what happens when protocols fail, contraindications and so-called “endangerment sites,” and sanitation and safety regulations.

Specifically, let’s take a look in greater detail at what learning outcomes students can expect after completing this program. Students will:

Gain knowledge of the laws and rules

It’s one thing to acknowledge the importance of avoiding mistakes in your clinical practice. It’s quite another, however, to have a detailed understanding of precisely what the rules and laws are in the world of therapeutic massage and bodywork. After completing this course, you’ll have in-depth knowledge of the laws and rules surrounding medical errors, which will increase your confidence and awareness as a massage therapist.

Acquire the skills needed to analyze root causes of errors and adverse events.

Identifying a medical error can be a complicated process. Understanding the error itself and the impact that it might have on your client, along with any legal ramifications and how they can affect your massage business, is obviously important. Beyond that, though, it’s just as important (and perhaps even more so) to identify what the root cause of an error or other adverse event actually was. Did it occur as the result of something preventable? Could it have been foreseen, and subsequently avoided? What was your role as the practitioner? What role did your client and their existing condition potentially play in the occurrence of the error or adverse event? Practitioners who have completed our Medical Errors course will be able to identify and analyze the root causes of various errors in their practice, making them better health care providers in the long run.

Be able to identify protocol failure and find solutions for error reduction and prevention

Protocols are an important part of massage therapy and bodywork. As a practitioner, you use protocols on a daily basis to ensure that your clients receive thorough, high quality care and treatment plans. But regardless of how effective a particular protocol might be for the general population, sometimes it’s the wrong choice for an individual client: and in some cases, a protocol can actually worsen a client’s condition by exacerbating existing symptoms. After completing this course, you’ll be able to identify when a protocol has failed, why it likely failed, and the solutions available to you moving forward to prevent and reduce future errors of a similar kind.

Learn how to maintain sanitary conditions in your practice and follow safety guidelines.

Throughout the course of most therapeutic massage curriculums, there’s usually a significant amount of discussion related to sanitation. This is common across all of the various allied health professions, as proper sanitation and safety practices are important regardless of your specialization in the medical field. And while you’re in school, you probably file these guidelines away in your mind, pledging to adhere to them once you start practicing massage and bodywork. Unfortunately, it’s easy to let sanitation and safety practices fall by the wayside once you’re actually wading through the quagmire that is the daily operation of a busy massage clinic. Participants in this course will learn how to maintain sanitary conditions in their practice and follow safety guidelines in an effective, replicable, consistent way, thereby reducing the potential of committing errors in their day to day professional lives.

Learn about proper record keeping to prevent adverse events

Record keeping is essential to the operation of any successful business, whether you’re the business owner or one of many employees. Massage therapy and bodywork is no different. You’re likely already keeping extensive records related to client scheduling, billing, budgeting, marketing, and more. But are you practicing record keeping habits that contribute to client safety? These records are just as important as (and arguably even more important than) those related to the financial and technical aspects of your business. After completing this program, you’ll be able to create and implement record keeping strategies that will contribute to the prevention of adverse events in your massage practice.

Be able to identify common contraindications and endangerment sites, and proactively prevent errors

When a new client comes in for their initial consultation, your mind might be swimming with the array of treatment possibilities available to you. The more skilled you become as a practitioner, and the more techniques you master, the more options you have in your toolkit. But before you dive into a particular mode of treatment, it’s important to first recognize various therapeutic approaches that might be contraindicated for you client’s condition. Students of this course will learn to identify common contraindications for precisely these sorts of situations, along with physical endangerment sites. This will allow students to work proactively to prevent potential errors in their treatment sessions.

Course Outline

Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with the learning outcomes for this class, you might be wondering how the content of the course is structured. Here, we’ll provide you with an extensive outline of the information presented in the course. This will give you a helpful overview of what to expect, and allow you to identify areas where you might be less familiar with the content and need to spend more study time in order to gain mastery of the subject.

Rules and Regulations

The rules and regulations related to medical errors in the practice of therapeutic massage and bodywork are discussed. The state of Florida is used as an example to provide detailed information to students about licensure requirements related to a “prevention of medical errors” CEU course.

Types of Errors

Medical errors exist across a wide spectrum of professions within the medical field. Many errors are common to a variety of professions, and these are discussed in brief. These errors are broken down into several categories, including diagnostic, treatment, preventive, and other errors. Mistakes related specifically to the practice of massage therapy are then identified and discussed throughout the remainder of the course.

Diagnostic Techniques in Massage Therapy

Formal diagnosis of client conditions is outside the scope of a massage therapist’s practice. Still, though, practitioners assess dysfunction in clients and take into account the medical history shared by the client. Improper assessment can contribute to errors. The course discusses what to watch out for when assessing clients so as to minimize and avoid mistakes in your practice.

Approaches to Treatment

An improper treatment plan can worsen a client’s condition and contribute to preventable medical errors. Consequently, identifying potential errors related to a given treatment approach is important. The course looks at treatment errors, and how to avoid them.

Client Follow-Up

Without proper communication, it’s impossible to assess the potential of an adverse reaction, or the instance of a medical error. client follow-up is discussed, including what questions to ask and how to identify the commission of a medical error during a recent treatment session.

Protocol Failure

Massage protocols are an essential part of an efficient and effective massage practice. Unfortunately, a protocol that’s executed improperly or used on a client for which it’s inappropriate or contraindicated can worsen a client’s condition. This course addresses the potential for medical errors when utilizing massage protocols, and how to prevent errors while still working efficiently.

Safety and Treatment Environment

Many massage therapists fail to consider the ways that safety and their treatment environment can contribute to the commission of medical error, and only became aware of these kinds of issues after an error has occurred. To address this, the course examines how to identify issues with safety and your treatment environment, and what sorts of changes can contribute to a safer treatment environment.

Sanitation

Sanitation is such an essential component of a safe and effective massage practice, but it’s also something that’s overlooked far too often. The course discusses the sanitation of equipment and other services, along with proper hygiene for massage therapists so as to minimize risk and prevent mistakes.

Using the SOAP Notation Method

Keeping notes properly is essential to preventing mistakes. Without a consistent and correctly implemented method of charting, notes can be misinterpreted and lead to an improper approach to treatment. This course examines proper note taking and charting techniques with a focus on minimizing errors and increasing client safety.

Medications

Prescribing medication to clients is obviously not within a massage therapist’s scope of practice. However, having an understanding of a client’s current prescribed medications helps minimize the potential for medical error, and allows for the identification of potential therapeutic contraindications. The course discusses how best to go about understanding what medications your client is currently taking, and put that information to best use in avoiding errors.

Informed Consent and HIPPA

Providing your clients with the correct forms is an essential part of minimizing mistakes and adhering to laws and regulations governing the practice of massage therapy. This course discusses the documentation of informed consent by clients, as well as how to properly request client records in accordance with HIPPA law.

Contraindications

Two types of contraindications exist when it comes to treating clients: local contraindications, and general or systemic contraindications. Awareness of contraindications is extremely important in the prevention of medical errors. This course covers a wide array of potential contraindications in the realm of massage therapy, including: cardiovascular disorders; bruises and contusions; broken capillaries, spider veins, and microtrauma; varicose veins; wounds and bleeding; blood clots and deep vein thrombosis; aneurysm; arteriosclerosis; atherosclerosis; infectious skin disorders; acute and chronic skin conditions; sensory abnormalities and nervous system disorders; psychological disorders; rehabilitation and loss of structural integrity; cancer; acute conditions such as fever and edema; pregnancy; and gastrointestinal disorders. A thorough understanding of what techniques and approaches might be contraindicated for these various conditions is essential to preventing mistakes.

Endangerment Sites

Endangerment sites are defined as areas of the body where sensitive structures such as nerves, arteries, or veins are located close to the body’s surface. Awareness of these sites and the use of caution in manipulating these areas is an important part of preventing medical error. This course discusses the various endangerment sites present on the body, including the: anterior cervical triangle; posterior triangle of the neck; area posterior to the mandible; sternal notch and anterior throat; axillary triangle; deltoid-pectoral triangle; medial and lateral epicondyles of the elbow; umbilical region; dorsal region; inguinal triangle; sciatic notch; popliteal fossa; deep calf; and tarsal tunnel.

Root Cause Analysis

Preventing errors involves a thorough understanding of their root cause. This course provides an in-depth discussion of various approaches to root cause analysis, including charting, the PRISMA method, causal trees, and Eindhoven classification.

What are CEUs, and Why are They Important?

The practical experience gained each and every day in a massage therapy practice is essential to your professional development. However, continuing your education by formal means is just as important. Massage CEUs, or Continuing Education Units (GUIDE TO LMT CONTINUING EDUCATION), allow practitioners to continue their training each year after having graduated from a massage therapy program.

Massage CEUs are essential not just for professional growth, but also for regulatory and licensure purposes. Most states require that licensed practitioners obtain a certain number of CEUs annually (or biennially, or triennially) in order to renew their license and keep it current. Additionally, practitioners who choose to obtain an NCBTMB National Certification credential (NCBTMB GUIDE) will need to attend a minimum number of hours of NCBTMB Approved CEU courses every two years.

At Panda Massage CEU, we’re an Approved Provider of NCBTMB CEU courses. We can provide you with the highest caliber of courses, and fulfill national and state requirements for continuing education.

Why Choose Panda Massage CEU?

While there are other online massage CEU providers, Panda Massage CEU is the clear choice for your continuing education needs:

Quality

Our courses are of the highest caliber. We pride ourselves on providing some of the best massage CEU courses available: not just online, but anywhere.

Unique Topics

With interesting options like hydro-therapy, hot stones, and kinesiology, our course offerings are engaging and unique.

Professional Narration

Some online courses are of a lower quality, with poorly executed narration. Our courses are professionally narrated, making them enjoyable and easy to follow.

Video Included

Unlike some classes available online, all of our massage CEU courses include videos. This simulates in-person learning, and raises retention rates for the material presented.

Self-Paced

Have a hectic schedule? Our courses are self-paced, making it easy for you to keep up with the material regardless of how busy you might be.

Great Prices

Our courses aren’t just incredibly high in quality: they’re also a great value. Our affordable prices mean that our courses fit into any budget. And, you save thousands of dollars on travel associated with attending courses in-person.