HealthForumOnline Offers New Online CE Course on Working with Transgender Individuals
HealthForumOnline (HFO), announces a new CE course entitled Health Care Needs and Health-Related Disparities: Building Cultural Competence in Working with Transgender Individuals to their extensive online library of nationally-approved continuing education (CE) courses for mental health professionals, nurses and allied healthcare workers. This theory - and evidence-based CE course discusses the multiple barriers to competent healthcare that transgender people face and how these life challenges contribute to substance abuse and HIV risk behaviors in this population. Healthcare professionals working with transgender people express the desire to treat patients with competence and respect, but frequently lack the information and resources to guide their practice. This course provides an introduction to the range of gender expressions and clinical experiences professionals may encounter along with culturally competent treatment guidelines and ways to overcome healthcare-related barriers among transgender individuals. All of HFO's CE/CEU courses are fast, convenient and especially cost-effective as health professionals have free ongoing access to course updates beyond completion of the CE activity.
Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) March 31, 2009
HealthForumOnline (HFO) (http://www. healthforumonline. com/), a nationally-approved (APA, ASWB, NBCC, PSNA, CA-BBS) (http://www. healthforumonline. com/Accreditations/44/) online provider of continuing education (CE) for psychologists, social workers, counselors, nurses and other allied healthcare professionals announces the addition of a new online CE course, Health Care Needs and Health-Related Disparities: Building Cultural Competence in Working with Transgender Individuals (http://www. healthforumonline. com/Our-Courses/Courses/47/categoryId__26/productId__85/), to the new LGBT category (http://www. healthforumonline. com/Our-Courses/16/categoryId__26/) of their extensive online CE resource library (http://www. healthforumonline. com/Our-Courses/16/).
The term transgender applies to a range of diverse individuals whose gender identity and/or gender expression is not concordant with the gender they were assigned at birth. Among many associated life challenges, transgender people face multiple social and institutional barriers to competent mental and physical healthcare regardless of whether or not they seek hormonal and/or surgical intervention. In addition, these life challenges and other related factors often contribute to substance abuse and HIV risk behaviors in this group. Thus, transgender individuals frequently find themselves in need of and simultaneously at odds with the healthcare system. "Healthcare providers who work with transgender people often express the desire to treat their patients with competence and respect, but also acknowledge frustration with the lack of information and resources available to inform their practice and expand their awareness of this highly varied population" notes course author Dr. Jae Sevelious.
While fear of being stigmatized and discriminated against can make it difficult to obtain an accurate prevalence of transgender identity, Bakker, Van Kesteren, Gooren, & Bezemer's 1993 study based in the Netherlands estimates that 1 in 11,900 people are male-to-female (MTF) and 1 in 30,400 are female-to-male (FTM). "What we do know is that transgender people are everywhere, in every culture, and in every size town and city" said Dr. Laura Stanton, co-founder and Clinical Director of HealthForumOnline.
This HFO course provides an introduction to the range of gender expressions and experiences providers may encounter in their practice along with treatment guidelines and ways to address the multiple barriers that transgender people often face in their search for culturally competent care. An overview of substance use and HIV prevalence and risk behaviors in transgender communities is be provided, along with risk reduction strategies and recommendations for enhancing quality of care for transgender clients.
Psychologists, social workers, counselors, nurses and other allied health professionals can now chose from HFO's 19 categories of topics related to health psychology and behavioral medicine (i. e., ethics, cancer adaptation, women's health, cultural diversity, eating disorders, reproduction/sexuality, aging/gerontology, pediatric behavioral medicine, assessment, chemical dependency, chronic/acute illness, clinical intervention, group therapy, infectious disease, long-term care, neuropsychology, pain management, spirituality, LGBT issues) containing over 60 courses available online or as downloadable, transportable PDFs. Health professionals can log on and complete CE courses at their own pace, on their own schedule, anywhere they have Internet access. CE certificates can be downloaded, printed and reprinted at any time to meet licensure renewal needs. Lastly, since HFO understands that busy health professionals need to have fast, convenient and cost-effective resources for state-of the-science education, we notify customers when their purchased CE course has been updated and enable customers to review these updates for free online even after they have completed the CE activity and generated their CE certificate.
For more information on this course or a complete listing of titles in our online CE resource library, visit HealthForumOnline. com.
About HealthForumOnline:
HealthForumOnline (HFO) is approved as a provider of CE courses by the American Psychological Association, the National Board of Certified Counselors, the Association of Social Work Boards, and several state professional organizations, including the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation, and the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. HFO's CE Program's Advisory Committee and authors (http://www. healthforumonline. com/About-HealthForumOnline-Psychologists-Social-Workers-Counselors-Nurses-Physicians-and-Allied-Health-Professionals/18/) are comprised of over 60 nationally-recognized experts in behavioral medicine.
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