Opioid literacy in physical therapy education and practice is paramount, and complements APTA’s Mission Statement: “Building a community that advances the profession of physical therapy to improve the health of society.” Supporting patient health and wellness efforts is the APTA Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist Principle 8: “Physical therapists shall participate in efforts to meet the health needs of people locally, nationally, or globally,” and APTA Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant Standard 8: “Physical therapist assistants shall participate in efforts to meet the health needs of people locally, nationally, or globally.” The recently adopted APTA House of Delegates position RC 62-19: Naloxone Availability Where Physical Therapy Services Are Provided further supports the need for advocacy, education, and training.

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss the role of the physical therapist (PT) and physical therapist assistant (PTA) in advocacy, education, and training to address the opioid problem in the United States.

2. Identify the potential signs of opioid addition and available patient treatment options including differentiating between a drug overdose and cardiac arrest.

3. Reflect on your personal role and responsibility to address emergency events such as cardiac arrest resulting from opioid overdose, including accurately identifying indications for naloxone use.

4. Discuss approaches to pain alternatives and resources available to PTs, PTAs, and patients.

Course Instructions

1. Click on the Contents tab to watch the course recording.
2. Click the Take Quiz button to complete the assessment. Learners will have 3 attempts to pass and must answer at least 70% of questions correctly.
3. Click Fill Out Survey under the Evaluation listing to provide valuable course feedback. Scroll down on all questions as there may be answer options that expand past the size of the window.
4. Click the View/Print Your Certificate button under the Certificate listing. You can view/print your certificate at any time by visiting the APTA Learning Center and clicking the CEU Certificate/Transcript link on the left-hand side of the page. 

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