Self-Paced eLearning Courses
Acute Stroke Care e-Learning is an online portal provided by the University of Calgary Office of CME&PD and the Quality Improvement & Clinical Research (QuICR) Alberta Stroke Program. QuICR is a partnership between Alberta Health Services, Alberta Innovates Health Solutions, University of Alberta – Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and the University of Calgary – Cumming School of Medicine. Additional funding was provided by the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada.
In the online portal, there are multiple self-learning modules designed for various professionals involved in acute stroke care in Alberta. You will also find the most up-to-date tools and resources for your clinical practice of acute stroke care.
After completing the online modules, you will be equipped to:
- Recognize the latest evidence in acute stroke treatment
- Use the Alberta protocols for the rapid transportation, assessment and treatment of acute stroke patients
- Develop strategies with team members to improve
treatment efficiency times - Perform your role in the rapid process of team care for acute stroke patients
Credit hours: 9.0 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
Format: Self-paced online modules
Please Note: Current ECME users will need to create a new profile on the QuICR Acute Stroke Care e-Learning website to access the modules. Follow the link of registration below.
This brief online course will help you build confidence in providing initial management of young adult presenting self harm behaviours.
After completing the course, you will be equipped to:
- Define Non-suicidal Self Injury and describe the incidence
- Assess adolescent patients who present with self harm
- Counsel patients and their families
- Initiate strategies for these individuals
Credit hours: 0.5 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
Format: Self-paced online modules
This program was provided by Alberta Health Services and Calgary Zone Primary Care Networks, and was planned to achieve scientific integrity, objectivity and balance.
Alberta’s go-to online 20-hour breastfeeding course for healthcare professionals is in development. This free CME-accredited course provides flexible, accredited learning to enhance your breastfeeding knowledge and support skills. The self-paced online modules have been developed for all health care providers working with expectant and breastfeeding families across the continuum of care.
AHS Early Years Health Promotion would like to thank all stakeholders across the maternal-child continuum of care who were involved in the development of this module.
Available Modules:
- Positive Breastfeeding Support
- Including Partners and Supporters
- Informed Feeding Decisions
- Introduction to Breastmilk and Breastfeeding
- Breastfeeding Support Skills & Assessment
- Variations & Challenges for the Breastfeeding Parent
Credit hours:
- Positive Breastfeeding Support: 1.5 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
- Informed Feeding Decisions: 1.5 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
- Including Partners & Supporters: 1.0 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
- Introduction to Breastmilk and Breastfeeding: 2.0 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
- Breastfeeding Support Skills & Assessment: 2.0 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
- Variations & Challenges for the Breastfeeding Parent: 3.0 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
Format: Self-paced online modules
Registration:
You may register for each module individually, or register for all modules at once.
- Positive Breastfeeding Support
- Including Partners and Supporters
- Informed Feeding Decisions
- Introduction to Breastmilk and Breastfeeding
- Breastfeeding Support Skills & Assessment
- Variations & Challenges for the Breastfeeding Parent
Upcoming modules will address additional topics, including variations and challenges for the breastfeeding infant, breastmilk expression and supplementation, and more!
The efforts to manage behavioural disturbances in dementia involve non-pharmacologic approaches and pharmacologic treatments. This online self-learning course is designed to support family physicians in implementing behaviour assessment and management of patients with dementia, situating the appropriate use of antipsychotics within the local care team strategies in Alberta.
After completing the course, you will be equipped to:
- Illustrate the physician’s role within a team-based approach to minimizing antipsychotic use in persons with dementia
- Evaluate key elements in the assessment and management of responsive behaviors in dementia
- Implement non-pharmacological behavior management approaches to responsive behaviors in patients with dementia
- Recognize the unique needs of both the patient and family members in their journey to the end of life of dementia
Credit hours: 3.0 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
Format: Self-paced online modules
This course was supported by Alberta Health Services – Seniors Health Strategic Clinical Network and the University of Calgary CME & PD, and was planned to achieve scientific integrity, objectivity and balance.
Acknowledgement
This course has received an educational grant from Alberta Health Services – Seniors Health Strategic Clinical Network, through funding made available from a grant from Alberta Health, Continuing Care Branch.
Carewest has supported Dr. Diana Turner’s time in the development of this program.
In this course you will learn how to effectively discuss weight gain with pregnant women in Alberta. The modules will help health care professionals apply Health Canada’s Gestational Weight Gain Guidelines, use resources to support and counsel women, and apply strategies for providing tailored and woman-centered care.
After completing the course, you will be equipped to:
- Identify the influence of pre-pregnancy weight and pregnancy weight gain on maternal, infant and child health outcomes
- Apply Health Canada’s Gestational Weight Gain Guidelines
- Utilize resources to support and counsel women on healthy weight gain during pregnancy
- Apply strategies for providing tailored and woman-centered care to support women in gaining a healthy weight throughout pregnancy
Credit hours: 1.5 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
Format: Self-paced online modules
This program was provided by Alberta Health Services – Healthy Children and Families department, the ENRICH Research Program and the University of Calgary CME&PD, and was planned to achieve scientific integrity, objectivity and balance.
Acknowledgement
This course has received an educational grant from Collaborative Research and Innovation Opportunity (CRIO) Program, Alberta Innovates.
Alberta Health Services – Reproductive Health, Healthy Children and Families, Healthy Living, Population, Public and Indigenous Health
ENRICH Research Program
We thank all of the stakeholders who provided feedback and Laura Adam who provided additional support during the development of the course.
First, do no harm. How do you keep yourselves, your patients, and your families safe when using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) while caring for patients in isolation? The Personal Protective Equipment Certification Course aims to prepare healthcare providers to care for patients who require droplet and contact isolation on medical admission units in the Calgary Zone, assuring adherence to existing infection prevention and control (IPC) protocols and avoid exposure to suspected pathogens.
After completing the course, you will be equipped to:
- Recognize and evaluate the indications for PPE use
- Recognize the features of appropriate hand hygiene
- List the steps for donning and doffing PPE
- List the indications for N95 mask use
Credit hours: 1.0 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
Format: Self-paced online modules
This course was co-developed with Calgary Medicine Emergency-Pandemic Operations Command (MEOC) and was planned to achieve scientific integrity, objectivity and balance.
Acknowledgement
Primary authors: Dr. Ghazwan Altabbaa, Corrinne Pidhorney (IPC consultant) and Dr. Vanessa Meier-Stephenson
Teaching faculty: Simulation educators and IPC professionals
You need to use point of care ultrasound (POCUS) to assess your patient. How do you routinely clean and disinfect your POCUS device properly between patients? What if a patient is on contact and droplet precautions?
The POCUS Disinfection Course aims to prepare healthcare providers in Alberta to reduce the risk of cross-contamination while using POCUS in the clinical setting. This online course will cover cleaning and disinfection concepts and principles as well as disinfection procedures and protocols, focused in the context of content and droplet precautions.
After completing the course, you will be equipped to:
- Evaluate risk according to Spaulding classification and link device use to appropriate disinfection level
- Describe the key principles for routine device disinfection
- Understand the process for preparing your device for deployment when contact and droplet precaution is in place
- List the steps for cleaning and disinfecting a cart-based mobile device when contact and droplet precaution is in place
- List the steps for cleaning and disinfecting a hand-held device when contact and droplet precaution is in place
Credit hours: 1.0 Manipro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
Format: Self-paced online modules
This course was co-developed with the Division of General Internal Medicine and was planned to achieve scientific integrity, objectivity and balance.
Acknowledgement
This program has received an educational grant from the John A. Buchanan Chair of General Internal Medicine at the University of Calgary.
We wish to thank Dr. Ada Lam for her review of this course.
As a frontline clinician, did you ever feel inadequately prepared to respond to and manage workplace violence?
We wish to help all health workers feel safe in the clinical workplace. In fall 2020, the PROactive: Partners in Professionalism partnered with the University of Calgary Office of CME&PD to host a three-part webinar series entitled “Identifying and Managing Violence in the Workplace: Experiences and Strategies”. During the webinars, discussion happened around physician experiences of workplace violence, and context-appropriate strategies and tools for prevention and safe response. It was such a valuable conversation that we feel obligated to share the learning materials to a broader audience if you missed the live webinars. We hope you find them helpful.
After completing the course, you will be able to:
- Recognize risk factors that contribute to violence in the workplace
- Discuss strategies for responding to and de-escalating violence
- Access local resources and support for physician safety and wellness
- Prepare for joining the development of local violence prevention plan
Credit hours: 2.5 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
Format: Self-paced online modules
This course was co-developed with the PROactive: Partners in Professionalism and was planned to achieve scientific integrity, objectivity and balance.
Acknowledgement
This course has received an educational grant from the PROactive: Partners in Professionalism, which was funded by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, Alberta Medical Association, and Alberta Health Services, and received in-kind support from the Health Quality Council of Alberta, University of Calgary and University of Alberta.
Physicians are committed to the health and well-being of individual patients and society through ethical practice, high personal standards of behaviour, accountability to the profession and society, physician-led regulation, and maintenance of personal health and professional wellness. This course is designed to help you recognize and safely navigate everyday ethical and professional challenges, identify and prevent conflicts and potential misconducts.
After completing the course, you will be equipped to:
- Demonstrate values and expectations of professionalism in medical practice in Alberta
- Identify situations that may be at high risk of raising issues around professionalism
- Recognize the early warning signs indicating ethical dilemmas and boundary problems
- Engage in reflective practice to maintain ethical and professional practice
Access resources that are available for continuous support of professionalism and wellness
Credit hours: 1.5 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
Format: Self-paced online modules
This course was provided by the CPSA and the University of Calgary CME & PD, and was planned to achieve scientific integrity, objectivity and balance.
Acknowledgement
This course has received an educational grant from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.
In order to address tapering and stopping opioid therapy, the Calgary Pain Program and the UofC CME&PD co-developed a blended course (i.e. online self-learning + group learning), so that practitioners have the opportunities to review the principles and guidelines, reflect on their own practices and discuss enablers and barriers.
Learners can choose to complete only the online modules or the full blended course of online modules and group learning workshops. Workshops are offered throughout the year, and the online modules act as a prerequisite to the face-to-face workshops.
After completing the course, you will be equipped to:
- Identify whether opioid tapering is an appropriate plan for a given patient
- Plan a tapering discussion that is evidence-based and responsive to the patient’s readiness for change
- Execute an opioid taper with a motivated patient
- Troubleshoot challenges that occur during an opioid taper
Credit hours (online modules): 7.0 Mainpro+ Self-Learning one-credit-per-hour / MOC Section 3 Self-Assessment Program
This course was provided by Calgary Pain Program and the University of Calgary CME&PD, and was planned to achieve scientific integrity, objectivity and balance.
Acknowledgement
This program has received educational grants from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta and the Alberta Physician Learning Program.
Thank the external experts reviewing the curriculum:
Peter MacDougall PhD MD FRCPC
Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management and Peri-operative Medicine, Dalhousie University
Director, Atlantic Mentorship Network – Pain and Addiction
Christy Sutherland MD CCFP dABAM
Medical Director, PHS Community Services Society
Physician Education Lead, British Columbia Centre on Substance Use
Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC Department of Family Medicine
Register Now (Online Modules)!
Interested in attending the paired workshops? Individuals who have completed the online modules are encouraged to contact Melissa Urquhart (Melissa.Urquhart@albertahealthservices.ca) for information on and registration for the paired workshops.
Precision Physician Support Services Courses
Clinical reasoning is a core competency for ensuring patient safety and the quality of patient care. It is a skill, process, or outcome wherein physicians observe, collect, and interpret data to diagnose and treat patients. Problems flagged during “Physician Practice Reviews”, such as missed diagnoses and suboptimal documentation, frequently reveal gaps in clinical reasoning. This course aims to explicitly remind and refresh physicians of the foundational elements that support clinical reasoning. Participants will learn steps and tools that lead to a better clinical process and improved practice.
After completing the course, you will be equipped to:
- Recognize the foundational elements supporting clinical reasoning
- Access your own mental pathways for clinical processes and reasoning
- Apply tools to self-evaluate and improve clinical reasoning
Credits:
CFPC
This three-credit-per-hour Self-Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada for up to 30 Mainpro+ credits.
RCPSC
This activity is an Accredited Self-Assessment Program (Section 3) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and approved by the University of Calgary Office of Continuing Medical Education & Professional Development. Participants may claim a maximum of 10 hours.
Course Format:
Participants will complete a series of learning activities:
- Online self-learning pre-workshop activity
- Workshop
- Online post-workshop activity
- Webinar
Completion of the online self-learning activity is the prerequisite for attending the workshop and the webinar.
The medical record facilitates good care. With contemporaneous documentation of patient encounters, the reflection and review can reinforce the consistency, completeness and quality of your clinical activities. This program aims to address sufficient documentation, which is central to patient safety and continuity of quality care. Participants will learn how to appropriately document patient encounters following the Subjective Objective Assessment Plan (SOAP) format.
After completing the course, you will be equipped to:
- recognize the general principles and multiple purposes of medical record documentation
- identify the elements and characteristics of appropriate documentation of patient encounters
- use the SOAP-based tool to self-evaluate and improve the practice of documenting patient encounters
- practice effective written communication of referral or consult letters
Credits:
CFPC
COURSE GROUP ACTIVITY
MAINPRO+ GROUP LEARNING
This three-credit-per-hour Group Learning program meets the certification criteria of The College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by the University of Calgary Office of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development for up to 30.0 Mainpro+ credits.
RCPSC
MOC SECTION 3 SELF-ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
This activity is an Accredited Self-Assessment Program (Section 3) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by University of Calgary Office of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development. You may claim a maximum of 10.0 hours (credits are automatically calculated).
Course Format:
Participants will complete a series of learning activities:
- Online self-learning pre-workshop activity
- Workshop
- Online post-workshop activity
- Webinar
Completion of the online self-learning activity is the prerequisite for attending the workshop and the webinar.
COVID-19 Education & Resources
COVID Corner Archives
Watch past recordings of COVID Corner episodes