Trusted Online, On-Demand CE for Physician Assistants

8.5 Hours of CE Credit

Advanced Evaluation & Management of Psychiatric Illness in Reproductive-Age Women

With Adria Goodness, MN, CNM, PMHNP-BC

View this intensive web-based continuing education course— on-demand!

Developed by an experienced women’s perinatal psychiatry specialist — valuable for physician assistants who are supporting women!

Already Enrolled?

The Program

 

"As a physician assistant, you will walk away from this course with an advanced skill set necessary for you, as a clinician, to recognize and treat anxiety and depression in women with confidence and competence."

 

  • The diagnostic process for psychiatric disorders is broken down into discrete steps, and common DSM­-V terminology and diagnoses will become more familiar. 
  • Includes a detailed review of serious psychiatric presentations. You will hone the ability to construct a comprehensive "differential.” 
  • The full complement of treatment options for common psychiatric complaints is reviewed
  • The unique ethical and clinical challenges inherent in prescribing for preconception, pregnant, and breastfeeding people is explored.

 

A Final Quiz:

Learners will take a quiz and receive a CE certificate that attests to their advanced knowledge.  

 

Tools You Can Take Back To Your Practice:

Learners return to their practice setting with presentation slides, references, and valuable clinical tools available for download.

 

What Makes This Training Critical Now?

Across their lifetime, more than 20% of women suffer from depression and/or anxiety.  An additional several percent are profoundly impacted by less common illnesses such as bipolar and psychotic disorders.  Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are the number one complication of pregnancy and the postpartum period and suicide is a leading cause of maternal death.  

Clinicians, such as PAs, who practice to the full extent of their scope by recognizing and treating common psychiatric complaints, or referring on to specialists, have opportunities to impact broad health outcomes for women, pregnant people and families.  Since poor psychiatric outcomes impact marginalized women the most, responding to mental illness addresses health disparities and the wellbeing of vulnerable people and mothers.

Fortunately, formal guidance from public health and professional organizations exists to encourage all clinicians caring for women to screen, assess, diagnose, and effectively treat or refer women for psychiatric symptoms in order to target obstetric, pediatric, and general health-related outcomes immediately.

Click on the links below to read recommendations that guide standards of care and best practices:

 

Why This Course Is Relevant for Physician Assistants

This course fills the education gap since traditional medical education for physician assistants addresses perinatal and maternal mental health minimally, if at all.  The reality of practice today means that PAs are seeing a large number of women with anxiety, depression, and more complex psychiatric disorders: 

  • Women represent over 50% of your patient panel:
    • Whether  providing gynecologic care in an ambulatory setting, rounding on post-op patients in the hospital, or working in dermatology, orthopedics and beyond, women and mothers are a core population seeking care...  
    • Up to 20% of them may be suffering from acute or chronic mental health symptoms.
  • Yours might be the only health care contact with a woman or mother across an entire year - being equipped in mental health  evaluation and management is critical.
  • This course explores evidence-based complementary, behavioral and medical treatments for common and complex psychiatric disorders, and it takes a deep dive into the pharmacology and ethics that make prescribing for women during pregnancy and lactation a challenge.

Feedback from clinician learners...

"I just want to share a personal experience: literally about 4 hrs after I finished this session [Session 4 on recognizing bipolar and psychotic disorders in women], I received a call from a patient's spouse who was concerned that his partner was suffering from postpartum psychosis. After some initial phone triage, I agreed with him and ended up on the phone with this couple for about 15 minutes offering guidance, reassurance, and then making a plan to proceed to the emergency room. I was able to follow up with this patient when she was discharged a few days later and she is doing well so far...but I just want to offer deep thanks for the work you do. This session was incredibly helpful, along with the videos in it, allowing me a glimpse into my patient's experience that I wouldn't have otherwise had. She has expressed gratitude for the care I provided (which really was minimal), and I credit this e-course for a stronger sense of confidence in my ability to deftly manage crisis situations like this."

"I loved this course!! I feel much better prepared to care for my patients. Thank you Adria for your thoughtful presentation of this information."

"I can't say enough how helpful this presentation was. I work in El Paso, TX in an area that has very few mental health resources and where providers are very hesitant to treat pregnant and breastfeeding women at all with medications. This presentation gave me more confidence to practice to my full scope and to go out and look for mental health providers who I may collaborate with in the future. This presentation made me proud to be a midwife and APRN."

"This information was sobering, illuminating, incredibly helpful. There were so many pearls that I had never known before and I feel more confident and able to provide better care. This info will contribute so much to my clinical practice in the care that I provide to women during their pregnancies and postpartum period."

"Excellent course!  Current research combined with real clinical situations and practical guidance."

"Very thorough presentation from a knowledgeable and relatable presenter.  Extremely important information for anyone providing well-woman, prenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care."

"I absolutely loved this course."

"This is such an important aspect of care and we simply don't have enough mental health providers. I especially appreciate the information to help manage my patients that may not have access to psychiatric care."

"This was an engrossing presentation about a topic that is relevant to me both on a personal and professional level, and the course was structured and presented in a clear and easily-digested manner."

"I really appreciated all the valuable resources shared during this course!"

"AMAZING COURSE!"

"I was familiar with some of the information, but details of diagnostic variations and subtleties of medication issues were by far the best I've seen. I'll be keeping this course material in a place for ready reference. Thank you!"

"This is one of the most useful CE courses I've ever taken. So informative and useful..."

How This Course with CE for PAs Works

  • This program has been designed for web-based viewing on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
  • Programs include web-based videos that have been optimized for streaming. If you have limited access to internet bandwidth, lower-bandwidth audio-only files and downloadable session slides are available.
  • Once you register for the course you will have immediate and ongoing access to course videos and downloadable materials for 30 days. This allows you to learn at your own pace, when it's convenient for you!
  • To get the most from this course, plan to spend about 60 to 90 minutes per session watching videos & taking notes, studying resources and familiarizing yourself with recommended web-based tools.
  • Download and save all PDF files (slides, clincal tools & references) during the course access period to utilize after course enrollment has ended.
  • After finishing, complete a post-test to verify mastery of the program content. The post-test can be taken more than once during the access period, as necessary. After receiving a passing grade of 80% or higher, a continuing education certificate is downloaded.

Physician Assistant Mental Health Training

  1. Review various female hormone-­mood connections related to PMS, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, infertility treatment,  pregnancy, birth, the postpartum transition and breastfeeding, and menopause.
  2. Improve screening and assessment techniques, and become more comfortable with diagnostic criteria for many common psychiatric disorders.  
  3. Become familiar with common bio-psycho-social contributors to psychiatric illness in women.
  4. Explore ethical dilemmas and informed consent issues related to prescribing medications for preconception, pregnant, and postpartum women.
  5. Utilize evidence-­based treatment strategies for selecting and implementing medical and non­-medical treatments for common depressive and anxious disorders. Free, web­-based tools will be introduced to assist clinicians in treatment planning.
  6. Identify strategies for ruling out bipolar and psychotic disorders, and become familiar with treatment goals and strategies for women with bipolar and/or psychotic disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum year in order to recognize deterioration and support management by psychiatric clinicians.
  7. Understand how the clinician’s medical scope of practice encompasses the provision of primary care services such as mental health screening, assessment, diagnosis, treatment and referral.
  8. Investigate treatment approaches for trauma, suicidality and substance use disorders.
  9. Appreciate the role of the clinician-patient relationship in facilitating healthy maternal identity shifts and general mental well-being.
  10. Appraise resources for integrating mental healthcare into clinical practice.

Continuing Education Credit

The the 8-session program is approved for 8.5 continuing education hours, including 2.75 hours of pharmacology content, by the American College of Nurse Midwives (A.C.N.M.)
The Session 8 update is approved for 1.5 continuing education hours, including 0.25 hours of pharmacology content, by the A.C.N.M.

 

Individual Sessions Within Training

$275.00 USD 30 days of access to this web-based, on-demand video training
  • Session I: Hormones, Mood, & Pregnancy – An Overview (45 minutes)
  • Session II: Assessment & Diagnosis of Common Psychiatric Symptoms in Women (76 minutes)
  • Session III: Recognition of Bipolar & Psychotic Disorders in Reproductive-Age Women (31 minutes)
  • Session IV: Effective Strategies for Treating Depression and Anxiety in Women (93 minutes, Rx=40 minutes)
  • Session V: Maternal Psychiatric Treatment: Informed Consent, Ethics, & Pharmacology (31 minutes, Rx = 31 minutes)
  • Session VI: Antidepressant Safety for Pregnant & Breastfeeding Women (61 minutes, Rx = 61 minutes)
  • Session VII: Treatment Goals & Strategies for Reproductive-Age Women with Bipolar and Psychotic Disorders (36 minutes, Rx = 21 minutes)
  • Session VIII: Reproductive Mental Health: Contemporary Challenges, Concepts and Approaches (93 minutes, Rx = 13 minutes)

Completed Session 1 through 7 previously? Get more mental health CE:

$39.00 USD 10 days of access to this web-based, on-demand video training
  • Session VIII: Reproductive Mental Health: Contemporary Challenges, Concepts and Approaches (93 minutes, Rx = 13 minutes)

Faculty Bio-Sketch

 

Adria Goodness, MN, PMHNP-BCAdria Goodness, MN, CNM, PMHNP-BC is a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and Certified Nurse-Midwife in Portland, Oregon. She received both her masters in Midwifery and her post-master’s certificate in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing at Oregon Health & Science University. From 2003 to 2013, Adria provided full-scope obstetric, gynecologic and primary care to pregnant people, women, adolescents, and families as a Nurse-Midwife. In 2011, she transitioned into her private psychiatric practice, which draws from midwifery philosophy in striving to create a health care experience that "respects human dignity, individuality and diversity among groups.”

Adria focuses her psychiatric practice on the care of people and mothers as a Reproductive Psychiatry specialist. She is a lecturer at Oregon Health & Science University and consultant to academic institutions, organizations and individual clinicians pursuing integration of reproductive mental health care into general psychiatric, primary care, midwifery and obstetric settings. Her greatest passion is bridging the knowledge gap between the clinical fields that address women’s physical health and those that focus on mental wellbeing.