Preventing Medical Errors for Florida Licensees

All Florida-licensed healthcare professionals are required to earn 2 hours of continuing education on the prevention of medical errors each renewal cycle. The same course may be taken every 2 years to ‘refresh’ knowledge.

Professional Development Resources offers 3 different continuing education courses on the prevention of medical errors, in hopes of providing more targeted and relevant information to licensees.

Preventing Medical ErrorsThe first course, Preventing Medical Errors, is a general course any healthcare professional could take to meet the 2-hour requirement. This course is accepted by all Florida licensing boards since Professional Development Resources is approved by several Florida boards (see below). This course addresses the impact of medical errors on today’s healthcare with a focus on root cause analysis, error reduction and prevention, and patient safety. It is intended to satisfy the requirements imposed by the 2001 Florida State Legislature mandating a 2-hour course relating to the prevention of medical errors as part of the licensure and renewal process for health professionals. 2008 | 29 pages | 14 posttest questions | Course #20-10

Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral HealthNext comes Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral Health. This course is intended to increase clinicians’ awareness of the types of errors that can occur within mental health practice, how such errors damage clients, and numerous ways they can be prevented. Its emphasis is on areas within mental health practice that carry the potential for “medical” errors. Examples include improper diagnosis, breach of confidentiality, failure to maintain accurate clinical records, failure to comply with mandatory abuse reporting laws, inadequate assessment of potential for violence, and the failure to detect medical conditions presenting as psychiatric disorders (or vice-versa). It includes detailed plans for error reduction and prevention like root cause analysis, habitual attention to patient safety, and ethical and legal guidelines. The course includes numerous cases illustrations to help demonstrate common and not-so-common behavioral health errors and specific practices that can help clinicians become proactive in preventing them. 2010 | 31 pages | 15 posttest questions | Course #20-10B

Preventing Medical Errors in Speech-Language PathologyFinally, Preventing Medical Errors in Speech-Language Pathology was created with a focus on the specific types of medical errors than can occur in the world of speech and hearing. This course addresses the impact of medical errors on today’s healthcare with a focus on root cause analysis, error reduction and prevention, and patient safety. Multiple scenarios of real and potential errors in the practice of speech-language pathology are included, along with recommended strategies for preventing them. Evidence shows that the most effective error prevention occurs when a partnership exists among care facilities, health care professionals, and the patients they treat. Suggested strategies for preventing errors address all three elements: (1) models for changing the culture in care facilities, (2) lifelong learning for SLPs that is focused on ethical, evidence-based, culturally competent practice, and (3) tools for educating and empowering patients. 2010 | 33 pages | 16 posttest questions | Course #20-10S

Professional Development Resources is approved as a provider of continuing education by the Florida Boards of Psychology and School Psychology (CE Broker Provider #50-1635); Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Provider #BAP346); OT Practice (#34); Council of Dietetics and Nutrition (Provider #50-1635) and is CE Broker compliant.