Traumatic Brain Injury: From Coma to Independence

Traumatic Brain Injury: From Coma to IndependenceClick Here For Course Brochure Click Here for the Course Syllabus This is a flex course designed to accommodate your busy schedule. Feel free to mix and match live and recorded sessions according to what best fits your needs, ensuring you have the flexibility to learn at your own pace while still benefiting from real time interactions and resources. DESCRIPTION This interprofessional ten session course will follow the path of recovery for a patient

• Click Here For Course Brochure
  

• Click Here for the Course Syllabus
  

• This is a flex course designed to accommodate your busy schedule. Feel free to mix and match live and recorded sessions according to what best fits your needs, ensuring you have the flexibility to learn at your own pace while still benefiting from real-time interactions and resources. 
  

DESCRIPTION
This interprofessional ten-session course will follow the path of recovery for a patient with a severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Esteemed faculty will lead participants through the different stages, starting from disorders of consciousness (DoC) (Rancho Los Amigos I-III) and then into the challenging Rancho IV population where behavior and agitation/aggression is often seen. Physicians, clinicians and nurses will provide a strong foundation of knowledge, as well as practical suggestions and applications. The course will explore various recovery periods, including confusion, post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) and increasing awareness and independence. Integral therapeutic processes such as self-regulation, return to meaningful activity and facilitation, will be addressed. Finally, the course will delve into the topic of ethics and decision-making, concluding with a discussion on how to handle these critical aspects of patient care. By the end of the course, you will have a deep understanding of the TBI recovery process, along with practical skills and knowledge to help patients at different stages of recovery.

DATES 
Course Dates: June 4th - August 31st, 2026
Live Session Dates: June 4th from 4-5:30pm CT & August 4th from 4-5:00pm CT
If you cannot attend the live session, a recorded version will be made available on-demand shortly after the live presentation concludes.

AUDIENCE
Advanced Practice Nurses, Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants, Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Assistants, Physician Assistants, Physicians (not for CME), Psychologists, Social Workers and Speech-language Pathologists.

LEARNER OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to: 

1. Define coma, unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) and the minimally conscious state.
2. List 1-2 medical complications that occur in the acute phase of TBI that may impact a patient’s course of recovery or rehabilitation.
3. Utilize the Agitated Behavior Scale (ABS) to rate a patient’s level of agitation and use it as a communication tool.
4. Describe an interdisciplinary team approach to behavior management to facilitate the participation of the patient with agitated-like behaviors in a rehabilitation setting.
5. Develop an interdisciplinary plan of care for patients in the Rancho V, VI, VII stages of TBI recovery.
6. Identify common cognitive problems associated with Ranchos Level VIII to X following TBI.
7. Describe how the use of Goal Attainment Scaling promotes goal achievement and the development of self-regulation after brain injury.
8. Apply knowledge of differences in clients with TBI and family caregiver perspectives, clinical biases and ethical dilemmas when discussing real-world safety risk case studies.

SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
Participants will complete 16 hours of live sessions, previously recorded on-demand content, self-study activities including readings, questions, scoring video clips and a case study. This program is designed to allow the learner to progress at their own pace. It is recommended that each of the ten sessions be completed within one week. The required assignments will be available during the 12 weeks that the course content is available. Learners will be required to complete the entire course satisfactorily by Monday, August 31, 2026.

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT
Nursing:

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. Course approval ID 13247. This distance learning blended/hybrid course is offered at 1.6 CEUs [intermediate level, Foundational knowledge/ OT Service Delivery]. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.

Physical Therapy: This online course has been approved by the Illinois Physical Therapy Board for 16.0 Contact Hours (2.5 hours live and 13.5 hours self-study). Approval #216-000069

The Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is recognized by California and the New York State Education Department's State Board for Physical Therapy as an approved provider of physical therapy and physical therapist assistant continuing education for 16.0 Contact Hours (2.5 hours live and 13.5 hours self-study) on 2/10/2026.

Many states accept continuing education contact hours recognized in other states, enabling professionals to use these hours to meet their licensing or certification requirements. Please consult your state regulations to see if this meets CEU requirements for your license.

Speech-Language Pathology: