112 - Implementation of an interdisciplinary neuroimaging course to augment clinical therapeutic assessment of patients in acute inpatient rehabilitation

Objectives: This introductory neuroimaging course was created as an educational tool for physical (PT), occupational (OT), and speech therapists (SLP) to aid in the comprehensive evaluation and interdisciplinary management of patients admitted to a standalone inpatient rehabilitation facility.

Design: PT, OT, and SLP’s attended a physician-led three-session lecture series which taught key concepts in neuroradiology foundations, normal and pathologic neuroimaging studies, and clinical implications of neuroimaging findings. Therapists were asked to rate their comfortability in 6 domains related to accessing and understanding patients’ neuroimaging data before and after the course on a 5-point Likert scale. Individual items were scored as 1 (not at all confident), 2 (slightly confident), 3 (somewhat confident), 4 (fairly confident), and 5 (completely confident). Paired responses following a non-normal distribution were compared using Wilcoxon signed rank test.

Results: Nineteen therapists with complete pre- and post-course data were included in analysis. Following the course, therapists felt more confident in understanding indications for CT vs. MRI (overall median response improved from a 3 pre-course to 4 post-course, p< 0.001), accessing the radiology section of the electronic medical record (improved from 2 to 5, p< 0.001), examining imaging without a radiology report available (improved from 1 to 3, p< 0.001), identifying neuroanatomical structures on normal imaging (improved from 3 to 4, p< 0.001), identifying areas of pathology (improved from 1 to 3, p< 0.001), and using imaging to support clinical recommendations (improved from 2 to 4, p< 0.001). Narrative feedback suggested overall satisfaction with the course.

Conclusions: This interdisciplinary neuroimaging education series improved therapists' understanding and clinical application of neuroimaging in the inpatient neurorehabilitation setting. Future directions include ongoing education of additional therapists, and understanding how this education translates to patient outcome measures.