Rheumatology Online Educational Courses Among Key ARHP Pillars

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Editor’s note: The new Pillar Talk column is developed by the ARHP Executive Committee in an effort to share information about ongoing activities related to our four pillars: Education, Practice, Research and Advocacy.

The ARHP Online Education Portfolio continues to evolve and grow. The Advanced Rheumatology Course (ARC) and the Fundamentals of Rheumatology Course (FRC) still form the backbone of ARHP online educational offerings. Yet January 2017 saw the launch of ARHP Rheumatology eBytes, which are brief, but rich, learning opportunities. This article summarizes the current status of our Online Education Portfolio, as well as where online education will likely be heading in the future.

Advanced Rheumatology

The ARC offers 19 modules presented by clinical experts from across the U.S. Of these, six are core modules of interest to all rheumatology practitioners. Core topics include musculoskeletal structure and function, inflammation and immunity, disease classification, lab evaluation, imaging of arthritis, documentation and practice issues, and intervention.

The ARC also includes 10 modules for practitioners working with adult patients and three that are for those with an interest in pediatrics. For adult populations, the modules address many of the most common disease states treated by rheumatology professionals (e.g., rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, lupus, scleroderma, vasculitis, pain syndromes), as well as crucial topics including infectious processes and metabolic bone disorders.

Similarly, the pediatric modules address chronic arthropathies in childhood, connective tissue disease and non-inflammatory pain. This course provides comprehensive education for all rheumatology professionals seeking advanced education on rheumatic diseases and their treatments.

The ARC is currently undergoing revision to update the modules and will be relaunched on the new ACR Learning Management System. Thus, CME credits will not be available until this process is completed in late 2018 to early 2019. In the interim, registration fees have been reduced by 25% to compensate for the lack of CME credits during this time. The process of updating the ARC modules is in the very capable hands of our new scientific editor, Benjamin Smith, PA-C, DFAAPA (former ARHP president), and associate editors, Kori A. Dewing, DNP, ARNP, and Atul Deodhar, MD, MRCP. We offer our deepest gratitude to Debra Bancroft Rizzo, MSN, FNP-BC, outgoing scientific editor, for all of the work that she and her team have accomplished over the past decade.

Fundamentals of Rheumatology

The FRC, which originally launched in October 2012, is intended to provide solid introductory content for professionals working with adult or pediatric patients. The FRC is also undergoing major changes, including an update of all material and an expansion from five to 10 modules.