Ebola Virus Disease
Course #94083 - $24 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
The emergence of Zaire ebolavirus in West Africa and the scope of the 2014–2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic have come as a surprise in a region not previously known to harbor Ebola virus. However, sporadic, limited outbreaks of EVD have been documented in rural areas of central Africa for decades. This course will provide recommendations for patient care in the hospital setting that emphasize the importance of strict adherence to patient isolation and barrier precautions, including the proper use of personal protective equipment and environmental infection control measures applicable to any healthcare setting.
- INTRODUCTION
- THE EBOLA VIRUS
- TRANSMISSION
- EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE
- THE 2014–2016 EBOLA EPIDEMIC IN WEST AFRICA
- CLINICAL CASE MANAGEMENT: ADVANCED PLANNING
- EXPOSURE EVALUATION PROTOCOL
- DIAGNOSTIC SPECIMEN COLLECTION AND HANDLING
- ENVIRONMENTAL INFECTION CONTROL PROCEDURES
- HANDLING OF HUMAN REMAINS
- MONITORING, MANAGEMENT, AND TRAINING OF VISITORS
- PREVENTION
- SUMMARY
- RESOURCES
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and allied healthcare professionals involved in the treatment and care of patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola virus disease.
The purpose of this course is to provide healthcare professionals, interprofessional teams, and those working in allied health disciplines, an overview of the clinical features, modes of transmission, epidemic potential, and important public health measures required for control of Ebola virus disease outbreaks.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Outline the characteristics and transmission of Ebola viruses.
- Describe the pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of Ebola virus disease (EVD).
- Identify a potential case of EVD based on clinical and epidemiologic considerations.
- Develop a patient management plan that includes supportive care, critical care and/or transfer to a referral hospital designated for this purpose.
- Describe the African Ebola epidemic and its potential impact on global public health.
- Discuss the implications for foreign travel and potential for introduction of Ebola into the United States.
- In the event of a known or suspect case, design a strategy for supportive care, patient contact isolation, and protection of healthcare workers, utilizing contact precautions appropriate for the nature and severity of illness.
- Discuss the steps to be taken if a breach in isolation protocol results in exposure of a healthcare worker to Ebola.
- Evaluate and discuss the importance of proper specimen collection, environmental hygiene, handling of human remains, and management of visitors in the control of EVD.
Carol Shenold, RN, ICP, graduated from St. Paul’s Nursing School, Dallas, Texas, achieving her diploma in nursing. Over the past thirty years she has worked in hospital nursing in various states in the areas of obstetrics, orthopedics, intensive care, surgery and general medicine.
Mrs. Shenold served as the Continuum of Care Manager for Vencor Oklahoma City, coordinating quality review, utilization review, Case Management, Infection Control, and Quality Management. During that time, the hospital achieved Accreditation with Commendation with the Joint Commission, with a score of 100.
Mrs. Shenold was previously the Infection Control Nurse for Deaconess Hospital, a 300-bed acute care facility in Oklahoma City. She is an active member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). She worked for the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality for six years.
John M. Leonard, MD, Professor of Medicine Emeritus, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, completed his post-graduate clinical training at the Yale and Vanderbilt University Medical Centers before joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 1974. He is a clinician-educator and for many years served as director of residency training and student educational programs for the Vanderbilt University Department of Medicine. Over a career span of 40 years, Dr. Leonard conducted an active practice of general internal medicine and an inpatient consulting practice of infectious diseases.
Contributing faculty, Carol Shenold, RN, ICP, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Contributing faculty, John M. Leonard, MD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Ronald Runciman, MD
Mary Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.