Committee on Physician Health and Rehabilitation Courses

The Committee on Physician Health and Rehabilitation functions under the TMA Board of Councilors as an advocacy group to promote the health and well-being of physicians, and encourage early intervention and care of physicians who are impaired.

CME Online and Home Study Courses Offered by PHR

Communication Skills: Why Bother?
Physicians with deficient communication skills may incur complaints by patients and colleagues, which puts them at risk for being reported to the Texas Medical Board and receiving legal sanctions. Physicians with sound communication skills improve patient and family satisfaction, strengthen the patient-physician relationship, and can reduce stress experienced when dealing with end-of-life issues. This CME activity will help attendees improve their communication skills with patients and colleagues, thereby increasing patient and family satisfaction, strengthening the patient-physician relationship, reducing stress, and improving patient outcomes. 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM, TMA has designated this course for 1.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Coping With Stress in the Practice of Medicine
Discusses common stressors in the medical profession and characteristics of physicians that increase risk for burnout. Provides tools for assessing personal risk for burnout. Identifies physician response patterns as they relate to resilience and the litigation process. Offers strategies to maintain professional integrity while coping with stress, and resources for recognition and assistance when professional help is needed. 2 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM, TMA has designated this course for 2.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Depression and Suicide in Physicians
Depression is one of the most common conditions among primary care patients; yet, physicians usually fail to diagnose or treat 40-60% of cases. Physicians have access to easy ways to commit suicide and the knowledge to ensure completed suicide. Physician suicide has been associated with personal, professional and financial stresses. This course will examine the number of physicians lost to suicide annually, describe the characteristics of major depression, identify risks for physician suicide, explain the warning signs of a suicidal physician, and summarize the ethical consequences of the effect of physician suicide to patients. 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM, TMA has designated this course for 1.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Effective Strategies for Tobacco Cessation
This course discusses ethical responsibilities of physicians to determine tobacco use at every clinical visit. Patient stages of change and physician strategies for smoking cessation are discussed. Commonly used pharmacotherapies and brief tobacco cessation counseling are reviewed. 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM, TMA has designated this course for 1.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Managing Patients With Pain
Describes appropriate documentation of managing chronic pain. The difference between addiction and appropriate pain management, and the necessity of executing a written pain management treatment agreement, are discussed. 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM, TMA has designated this course for 1.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Ethical Aspects of Monitoring Physicians in Recovery
Discusses ethical and professional responsibilities of monitoring physicians in recovery so as to provide responsible advocacy for the monitored physician and protect patient safety. Identifies potential ethical dilemmas that might arise for physicians who monitor other physicians. Assesses the professional responsibility of entities that oversee physician health. 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM, TMA has designated this course for 1.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Ethical Considerations in Physician Aging and Retirement
Discusses how to recognize signs and address common illnesses in the aging physician and encourage them to become more aware of the professional, personal, and ethical considerations involved in planning for successful retirement. 2 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM, TMA has designated this course for 2.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

How to Create and Maintain Life Balance
Discusses the importance of actively initiating and maintaining balance in one's life. Reviews the importance of identifying personal core values congruent with prioritizing life activities. Provides action steps that may lead to improved patient care and a more balanced life. 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM, TMA has designated this course for 1.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Maintenance of Professional Boundaries and Effective Management of Challenging Patient Encounters
Emphasizes the significance of boundaries as they relate to a healthy patient-physician relationship. Discusses vulnerabilities of patients and physicians to boundary violations and consequences when boundaries are crossed. Reviews types of challenging patient encounters and the effect on the physician's practice. The importance of maintaining professional boundaries while working with a wide variety of challenging patient encounters is discussed. 2 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM, TMA has designated this course for 2.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Patient Safety and Peer Assistance
Discusses the need for a peer assistance committee to further patient safety. Interprets the Joint Commission Standard relating to physician health as it applies to professional ethics and behavior. Explains the process a peer assistance committee takes when it receives referrals. 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM,TMA has designated this course for 1.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Psychiatric Illness and Disruptive Behavior in Physicians
Discusses how to recognize signs and symptoms of psychiatric illnesses and identify patterns of disruptive behavior in physicians. An intervention process for approaching colleagues identified as exhibiting behavioral or emotional problems is described. 2 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM,TMA has designated this course for 2.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Spirituality and Medicine
Assesses the role of spirituality in physicians personal lives and the lives of their patients. Reviews how to integrate spirituality and clinical practice to enhance patient satisfaction. Discusses the principles of ethically managing spirituality in a medical practice. 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM, TMA has designated this course for 1.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Substance Use Disorders in Physicians: Identification and Intervention
Discusses the disease aspects of Substance Use Disorders. Reviews essential components of conducting an intervention and steps necessary to prepare intervention team members. Explains ethical considerations involved in mandatory reporting and patient safety. 2 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM, TMA has designated this course for 2.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

The Art and Science of Happiness
Traditionally, physicians have focused on the disease model, but recent evidence suggests that disease may be a manifestation of an overall imbalance or unhappiness in an individual’s life. Research suggests that a physician and his or her patients have at least 40% personal control over their own happiness, which can be an answer to the stress of the changing practice of medicine. This activity will give physicians the tools to help patients and themselves understand the concepts of happiness and how best to achieve it. 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM, TMA has designated this course for 1.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

The Family In Addiction and Recovery
Describes the family dynamics of addiction, emphasizing that addiction is a family illness. Characteristics of a healthy family and available resources that will foster family recovery are discussed. 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM, TMA has designated this course for 1.0 ethics and/or professional responsibility education.

Live Presentations Offered by PHR

TMA's Committee on Physician Health and Rehabilitation offers several courses that provide physicians with one hour of CME ethics credit. Available as live presentations, topics include physician stress and burnout, chemical dependence, intervention, smoking cessation, professional boundaries, problem patients and many more. For assistance with regard to this educational program, contact Linda Kuhn at TMA at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1342, or e-mail Linda Kuhn.

Communication Skills: Why Bother?
See online and home study summary above. (Ethics)

Depression and Suicide in Physicians
See online and home study summary above. (Ethics)

Disruptive Behavior in Physicians: Professional and Ethical Considerations
Discusses how to recognize the presence of disruptive behavior in physicians. Steps in the intervention process to address disruptive behavior are described. (Ethics)

Effective Management of Challenging Patient Encounters
Discusses types of patient encounters that might be considered challenging and the effects of those encounters on several areas of the physician's practice. Methods for ethically and professionally managing these encounters are described. (Ethics)

Effective Strategies for Tobacco Cessation
See online and home study summary above. (Ethics)

Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Managing Patients With Pain
See online and home study summary above. (Ethics)

Ethical Aspects of Monitoring Physicians in Recovery
See online and home study summary above. (Ethics)

How to Create and Maintain Life Balance
See online and home study summary above. (Ethics)

Intervention for Physicians Who May be Impaired
Discusses the concept of intervention with physicians who may be impaired. Reviews key components of conducting an intervention and steps necessary to prepare intervention team members. Identifies principles of the intervention process in clinical practice. (Ethics)

Maintaining Professional Boundaries
Assesses the importance of boundaries as they relate to a healthy patient-physician relationship and explains vulnerabilities of patients and physicians to boundary violations. Compares legal, ethical and personal consequences to physicians and patients when boundaries are crossed. Sources of help available to physicians who are at risk of boundary problems or who have crossed boundaries are discussed. (Ethics)

Patient Safety and Peer Assistance
See online and home study summary above. (Ethics)

Physician Stress and Burnout
Explains stress and burnout in the physician population. A continuum ranging from normal stress to impairment is discussed. Speakers present self-assessment tools, prevention strategies, treatment options, and solutions. (Ethics)

Recognizing and Addressing Illnesses in the Aging Physician
Discusses identification of common neurological, psychiatric, and other medical illnesses that may affect the aging physician and how these illnesses may affect the medical practice. Recognition of ethical obligations to address conditions of impairment in colleagues to ensure safe patient care and how to apply steps of intervention to address illnesses in the aging physician are addressed. (Ethics)

Spirituality and Medicine
See online and home study summary above. (Ethics)

Substance Use Disorders in Physicians: Identification and Intervention
Discusses the disease aspects of Substance Use Disorders, and mandatory reporting requirements by physicians, peer assistance committees, and hospitals. (Ethics)

Successful Retirement: Professional, Personal, and Ethical Issues
Discusses the importance of early planning for the practicing physician in preparing for a successful and satisfying retirement. Physician and patient care factors and ethical considerations shown to be significant in preparing for retirement and how to maintain optimal patient care while planning for a successful retirement are addressed. (Ethics)

The Art and Science of Happiness
See online and home study summary above. (Ethics)

The Family in Addiction and Recovery
See online and home study summary above. (Ethics)

Understanding and Coping with Malpractice Litigation
Identifies physician response patterns as they relate to the litigation process. Offers strategies to maintain professional integrity while coping with stress, and resources for recognition and assistance when professional help is needed. (Ethics)