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MED 325 Meditation Theory and Practice I Syllabus

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Printable Copy of The ExamAccess Online ExamCourse Evaluation Form

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to the online CE course; “Meditation Theory and Practice I.” This online Continuing education course is the second foundational course in the curriculum and participants study theories and practices of many different meditation techniques. Learning which occurred in the first course (MED 300) become more applicable as participants explore the world of meditation. Participants will study meditation from various traditions, including practices used in religious settings. Such practices include “Zen” theory and meditation, Buddhist meditation practices, and Christian meditations. Continued explorations occur in relation to common meditation practices of today’s western world. New breath work techniques are studied, as well as new ideas related to concentration and mindfulness. Taoist meditation is also studied. Hatha Yoga is also presented, as are mantras, included sacred Hebrew mantras used in meditation practices. Other topics that are presented include, Chi, progressive relaxation techniques, dreaming, deep meditation, mantras and vibrations, centering prayer and more.

Upon successful completion of this course, students are awarded 30 contact hours of continuing education creditsCourse Code: MED 325.

Course Refund & AIHCP Policies: access here

Group of adults meditating in a classroom

This Course is Board approved. The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is an Approved Provider for Continuing Education by the South Carolina Professional Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists and Psycho-Educational Specialists licensing board, Provider # 4637.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals, Inc. is a licensed Continuing Education Provider in the State of California, Board of Registered Nursing, Provider # CEP 15595. Access Info

Instructor/Course Author: Dominick L. Flarey, Ph.D, MBA,RN-BC, ANP-BC, GC-C
Link to Resume: access here

Email: info@aihcp.org

This is a guided, independent study CE Course. You are to study and progress at your own rate. There are no written assignments. It is recommended that you follow this process for completion of the course :

1. Order your textbook for the course. Information and a link to order the book online are presented below.

2. Review the course objectives.

3. You are required to read/review all chapters in the assigned textbook, unless otherwise indicated by your instructor in this syllabus. As you read/review each chapter, you may want to stop and identify the corresponding questions on the exam related to the material of that chapter, and answer the questions on your printed out copy of the examination. You can obtain a printed copy of your examination simply by clicking on the link at the top of this syllabus “Printable Copy of The Exam.” This will allow you to work with your exam as you study the text book (s) and progress through your course. Then, when you have completed your examination using the printable copy, you will be ready to transfer your responses into the computer based examination program for final submission and grading. You can proceed doing this with each chapter, until you have completed your study of the textbook. Please read/review each chapter in sequence. Do not “skip” ahead, as each chapter builds upon the materials in the previous chapter.

4. Once you have completed all of the chapters in the textbook, you can proceed to your final online examination by clicking the “Access Online Exam” link below the course banner at the top of this syllabus. You can also download the exam as a PDF file by clicking on the “Printable Copy of The Exam” link next to Access Online Exam. If you wish you can print this file out as a printed off copy of your examination. Once you access the online exam you will see a screen that will ask you to input your Name, E-mail address, and your student ID/AH Number (AH####). Please fill out all of the requested information accurately. If you do not, we will not be able to identify who took the exam and your answers will be lost. The following slide will welcome you to your exam and present the introduction slide with further instructions on how to take the exam. Answer the questions to the best of your ability. There is only ONE correct response for each question.

5. When you have answered the final question, it will ask you to submit your answers. It will then show you your grade for the exam, and if you passed the exam it will allow you to review your answers. If you passed, the close button in the bottom right hand corner will take you to the course evaluation form. At which time, please fill out an evaluation so your grade can be processed. Once received, we will send you an e-mailed copy of your exam with the correct and incorrect answers.

5a. If you did not pass your examination, you will receive a notification stating failed. You will not receive any feedback on your answers. Please press the close button on the bottom right hand corner to exit your exam. At which point, contact the Assistant Executive Director @ Mark@aihcp.org,  for a chance to retake the exam. If you fail on your second attempt, you will fail the course and have to pay to retake it.

6. If you have successfully completed the examination with a passing score, we will process your CE Certificate, which will include the course title, the awarded contact hours of continuing education, and the date of completion. Your CE certificate will be e-mailed to you as a PDF file. You can expect to receive your certificate (via e-mailed PDF file) within 2-3 business days upon receipt of the completed evaluation form. No CE Course Certificate will be processed without a completed course evaluation. If you missed the course evaluation link after the exam, you can alternatively click the “Course Evaluation Form” at the top of this syllabus. Please note that the Organizations and the licensing Boards that provide our CE approvals all require that a course evaluation be completed by the course participant before a CE Course Certificate may be awarded; as such there are no exceptions. A course evaluation must be completed in order to receive your CE Course Certificate.

TIME FRAME: You are allotted two years from the date of enrollment, to complete this course. There are no set time-frames, other than the two year allotted time. If you do not complete the course within the two-year time-frame, you will be removed from the course and an “incomplete” will be recorded for you in our records. Also, if you would like to complete the course after this two-year expiration time, you would need to register and pay the course tuition fee again.

TEXTBOOKS: There is one (1) required textbook for this course and one (1) audio.

Learn to Meditate: A practical guide to self-discovery and fulfillment. By: David Fontana, Ph.D. San Francisco:Duncan Baird Publishers; 1999. ISBN #: 0811822508

Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: click here

The Beginner’s Guide to Meditation. 2 tape audio cassettes/ or CD set. By: Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. The Hay House: California; 2000.

Link to Purchase Directly from Publisher: click here

Additional Assignments:

Videos:

Finding the Calm in Stress Videogram by Mark Moran MA, GC-C

GRADING: You must achieve a passing score of at least 70% to complete this course and receive the 30 hours of awarded continuing education credit. There are no letter grades assigned. You will receive notice of your total % score. Those who score below the minimum of 70% will be contacted by AIHCP and will be permitted one more attempt to retake the online examination.

FINAL EXAMINATION: It is recommended that you click on the “Printable Copy of Exam” near the top of the syllabus. It will download as a PDF file. Below are detailed instructions on how to take your exam.

1). When ready to start your final examination for the course, please click on the “Access Online Exam” link near the top of the syllabus.

2). You will be prompted to input your Name, E-mail Address, and Student ID # (AH####). You must fill this out, the exam will not allow you to proceed if you do not. It is very important that you use your full name, your valid e-mail address and your student ID/AH Number. If you do not input your correct information, we will have no way of identifying your exam and it will be deleted! All unidentifiable exams are deleted!

3). Next you will be taken to the introduction screen for your exam. There will be detailed instructions on how to take the online exam. Please review them and when ready click the “Continue” button on the bottom right hand side of the screen to begin your exam.

4). When you have answered all of the questions and are happy with your answers, the exam will prompt you to either “SUBMIT ALL” or “RETURN TO EXAM”. If you are ready press “SUBMIT ALL”.

5). If you received a passing score, you will receive a “Congratulations, you passed” screen with a green check mark. You will have a chance to review your questions and answers. A copy of your exam will be e-mailed to you within 1-2 business days.

5a). If you failed the exam, you will receive a “You did not pass” with a red X. You will have no chance to review your questions and answers. At this point, please contact Administration, Mark D. Moran, Assistant Executive Director for instructions on re-taking the online examination. You may retake the online examination one time. You will receive full instructions regarding the re-take of the examination.

6). After receiving a passing score, click the “CLOSE” button in the bottom right hand corner to close out of the exam and be redirected to the course evaluation form. You must fill out the course evaluation form in order for your grade to be processed and for you to receive an CE certification.

Note: all of our Examinations are Copy Written

COURSE EVALUATION: upon submitting your responses to the examination questions, you are required to complete the online Course Evaluation Form.  This will take you directly to the online evaluation form. Complete the evaluation and be sure to click the “submit” button. CE certificates will not be sent unless a course evaluation is completed.

COMMUNICATION: this is a self-directed, independent study course. However, you may certainly submit to us questions or comments regarding the course materials. We will be sure to forward any questions you may have to the author of the course. You will then receive a follow-up response from the author. All of our course authors are fully educated and credentialed in the practice of Meditation. You may email any questions to: info@aihcp.org. Please be sure to include the full title of the course you are in, as well as the course code (provided above). If you have any questions at all or need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT CENTER: Our Technical Support Center is open Monday-Friday; 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (EST).  You may e-mail technical support at: admn@aihcp.org   You may also phone us at: 330-652-7776. If you leave an e-mail after normal business hours, the Support Center will respond to you as soon as they open up the next business day.

INTERACTIVE STUDENT FACEBOOK GROUP
Please join the Interactive Facebook Group for Meditation!

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We host a private (students only) Facebook page for Meditation. This page is dedicated for private use by all students in our Meditation courses. We highly encourage all of our students to “join” this private group. The group is used for:

  • Providing interactions between all students in the Meditation Instructor education program.
  • All members may post on the page as well as download documents and photos.
  • Interactions between students and faculty.
  • Meeting new colleagues/friends who have the same interests in Meditation.
  • Providing a medium for Chat sessions among members of the group.
  • Providing new information to all student on an ongoing basis via posts in the room.
  • Stimulating discussions related to Meditation Instruction and other professional issues/topics.
  • Sharing articles, links to recommended websites, links to videos as well as links to events and other education resources.
  • Our staff provides up to date articles for your review. Articles are added almost on a daily basis. Reviewing the information is voluntary but highly recommended.

Joining the private Facebook group is voluntary. We do highly encourage you to join and participate. Your participation will enhance your learning and provide a platform for networking with your colleagues. Join the group today! You must ask for permission to join this group. Our staff will receive your permission notice and will verify your student status and then authorize your membership to the group page.

Important Information: You must have a Facebook account to join this group. If you have a Facebook account, just click on the link below and you will be taken to the Facebook sign in page. You would then log into your account. You will be on the Meditation Instructor private group page. Once you have clicked on the link, a notice will be sent to our administrative office and you will be authorized to the page. On your Facebook page, the group page will be listed on the left hand side of your page. You can click it at any time and enter the private page. If you do not have a Facebook account, it is easy to open one. The link below will take you to the sign in page and you can click on the link to open an account. Facebook accounts are free.

Click here to access the Meditation Instruction Public Facebook page

Click here to access the Meditation Instructor Private Facebook page

Click here to Join the AIHCP Public Face Book Page

AIHCP BLOG: Please visit our interactive web blog. Students and certified members are encouraged to visit our blog frequently. You will find useful articles, news, posts and much more related to the specialty area of Certification you are pursuing. Click the link above to access the blog. Then, click on the link on the right hand side that corresponds to the subject area you are studying. Feel free to posts replies, comments and news. Register to become active on the blog and contribute your own unique information for all to see and share. Sharing and interacting with your peers is an excellent learning process. By sharing you contribute to the ever growing body of knowledge in your specialty area.

STUDENT RESOURCE CENTER: Please access our student resource center. The Resource Center contains all of our current policies, as well as important information regarding classroom and examination accesses. Also included are trouble-shooting tips when a student has any difficulties with classroom or examination accesses. The Resource Center also provides other information regarding our continuing education and certification programs. Access to online libraries is also provided. To Access the Student Resource Center: click here.

Discussion Boards:  Please access the Discussion Boards by clicking on the Tab on the left side of your computer screen. The Discussion Boards are provided for our students as means to communicate with others taking courses in our Meditation Courses and Programs.  You have full access to the Discussion Boards throughout the time you are enrolled in a course. They are a great means to meet others who are studying Meditation, exchange ideas, post questions and ideas, provide responses to other’s questions, provide links to outside resources and more.  Once you access the Discussion Boards, simply follow the instructions to create your own account and start reading and posting.

E-Learning Library: Please access our E-Learning Library by clicking on the Tab on the left side of your computer screen. The E-Learning Library is a free service for all of our students. It is an ever-growing library of FREE E-Books that you may access at any time. The books are produced by us professionally on a wide array of health care related topics. You may read and or download them for later references. We frequently add new E-Books to the library on an on-going basis. The E-Books are not related to this course and so are not required readings for this course.

Malpractice Insurance: Many are interested in seeking out companies that provide health care professional malpractice insurance. We have compiled a list of companies that you may contact directly regarding this. Most companies will provide you with a quote online. For information, click here.

Submit a Testimonial: Students and certified members may submit a testimonial to our public Testimonials Page. Visitors to our website, especially those considering our certification programs, are keenly interested in hearing about the experiences of health care professionals who are enrolled in our programs. To submit a Testimonial, simply access the online Form: Access Here. You may also preview our current Testimonials Page Here.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Understand and discuss the theory and practice of Zen and meditation modalities.
2. Define distractions which hinder heightened awareness.
3. Discuss common mistakes made when learning meditation.
4. Define the effects of meditation on emotions.
5. Discuss factors which impact the learning of mediation practices.
6. Define and discuss “attention” as it applies to meditation practices.
7. Understand and teach ways to focus attention in meditation practices.
8. List and describe the mind benefits of meditation.
9. Review and discuss Buddhist teachings related to dealing with negative emotions.
10. Define and discuss potential side effects of meditation.
11. Understand effective strategies for dealing with distractions during meditation.
12. Define recommended time-frames for practicing meditation.
13. Discuss how rituals may be effectively used in meditation practices.
14. Review and discuss correct posturing in meditation practice.
15. Define and discuss strategies that will sharpen the awareness of breath.
16. Contrast types of breathing patterns as they related to meditation.
17. Define the effects of ego on relaxation of the conscious mind.
18. Discuss various religious affiliations and types of associated meditation practices.
19. Define, discuss and practice Taoist meditation.
20. Define and discuss Hatha Yoga.
21. Review the concept of “tree of life” and how it relates to mediation.
22. Discuss various types of sacred mantras used in meditation practices.
23. Define outcomes of altered states of consciousness from meditation.
24. Define and understand “meditative dreaming” and “mindfulness dreaming.”
25. Define and discuss effects of abdominal vs. chest breathing.
26. Review and understand study outcomes related to progressive relaxation.
27. Discuss “chi” and its major sources.
28. Describe 3-Dontian breathing and meditation including its techniques.
29. Define and discuss “deep meditation” and how it is achieved.
30. Discuss mystical experiences related to meditation practices.
31. Discuss and understand the relationship of meditation practices to spirituality.
32. Compare and contrast meditation with “prayer.”
33. Discuss and understand what is meant by the “relaxation response.”
34. Define and discuss “concentration” meditation and how it is achieved.
35. Review concepts related to “mindfulness” meditation practice.
36. Define and discuss “centering prayer.”
37. Understand time-frames of meditation practice related to good outcomes.

COURSE CONTENT:

A brief abstract of content:

1. History and theory of Zen philosophies
2. Zen and meditation
3. Common mistakes made in meditation practice
4. Meditation and effects on emotions
5. Outcomes, benefits of meditation practice
6. Foundations for effective learning of meditation
7. Techniques of meditation practices
8. Focusing attention
9. Mind benefits of mediation
10. Buddhist teachings and meditation
11. Potential side-effcts of mediation
12. Dealing with distractions in meditation
13. Time-lines for learning meditation
14. Use of rituals in meditation
15. Appropriate postures used in meditation
16. Explorations of the mind
17. Breathing techniques
18. Uses of deep breathing
19. Effects of various uses of the breath
20. World religions and meditation
21. Taoist meditation practices
22. Meditations used in western traditions
23. The tree of life concept/theory
24. Hatha yoga and meditation
25. Sacred Mantras
26. Altered consciousness outcomes
27. Altered states of consciousness
28. Dreams and meditation
29. Outcomes of breathing patterns
30. Focused attention and physiological outcomes
31. Sources of Chi
32. Three-Dontian meditation
33. Deep meditation states
34. Mysticism, spirituality and meditation
35. The relaxation response
36. Centering prayer
37. Concentration meditation
38. Mindfulness meditation
39. Physiological responses and benefits of meditation