COURSE INFORMATION
Should a new study change the way you care for patients? How can you tell whether a headline accurately reflects the underlying research? When clinical studies reach different conclusions, how do you determine which findings deserve your confidence? What should you say when a patient asks whether a health claim they encountered on social media, in a podcast, or on the evening news is supported by the scientific evidence?
Healthcare professionals must navigate a growing volume of research findings, clinical guidelines, and health claims that vary widely in quality and reliability. In an era of rapidly evolving scientific knowledge, conflicting health information, and widespread medical misinformation, the ability to distinguish trustworthy evidence from misleading, biased, or methodologically weak research has become an essential professional competency. Developing research literacy—the ability to locate, understand, and critically appraise scientific evidence—and translating that knowledge into appropriate clinical applications are therefore fundamental to evidence-based healthcare and informed clinical decision-making.
Designed for nurses, physicians, advanced practice providers, pharmacists, therapists, dietitians, clinical research professionals, healthcare educators, public health professionals, healthcare administrators, and other allied health professionals, this course provides a practical foundation for interpreting and applying medical research in clinical and professional practice. Participants strengthen the skills needed to access relevant scientific literature, recognize common research designs, evaluate sources of bias and confounding, interpret statistical findings, and determine whether published conclusions are supported by the evidence.
Students examine observational studies, clinical trials, systematic reviews, and other major forms of healthcare research while learning to appraise study quality, validity, reliability, and clinical applicability. The course also explores how scientific evidence is generated, synthesized, communicated, and translated into evidence-based practice, enabling learners to discern well-supported conclusions from overstated or misleading claims.
Upon completion, participants will possess the practical research literacy skills needed to confidently evaluate medical literature, interpret research findings, and incorporate high-quality scientific evidence into patient care, quality improvement initiatives, and professional decision-making.
Course Code: RM 520. Contract hours of education: 60 hours.
Instructor/Course Author: Johanna DiStefano, Ph.D.
Link to Resume: access here
TIME FRAME: You are allotted two years from the date of enrollment, to complete all of the courses in the Holistic & Integrative health care practice program. There are no set time-frames, other than the two year allotted time. If you do not complete the courses 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 courses 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.
Introduction to Research and Medical Literature for Health Professionals by J. Glenn Forister and J. Dennis Blessing, Fifth Edition, Jones and Bartlett Learning, Burlington, MA
Link to Purchase on Amazon.com: click here
GRADING: You must achieve a passing score of at least 70% to complete this course and receive the 60 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 the and options for completing additional course work to achieve a passing score, will be presented.
BOARD APPROVALS: 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.
AIHCP is an approved provider of continuing education by the Florida Board of Nursing and the District of Columbia Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975. Access information
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals (The Provider) is approved by the California Board of Registered Nurses, Provider number # CEP 15595 for 60 Contact Hours.
This course, which is approved by the Florida State Board Of Nursing (CE Provider # 50-11975) also has the following Board of Nursing Approvals, for 60 contact hours of CE
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Arkansas Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the Georgia Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the South Carolina Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the West Virginia Board of Examiners for Professional Registered Nurses. CE Provider # 50-11975.
The American Institute of Health Care Professionals Inc: is a Rule Approved Provider of Continuing Education by the New Mexico Board of Nursing. CE Provider # 50-11975.
Course Refund & AIHCP Policies: access here
ONLINE CLASSROOM RESOURCES AND TOOLS
* Examination Access: there is link to take you right to the online examination program where you can print out your examination and work with it. All examinations are formatted as “open book” tests. When you are ready, you can access the exam program at anytime and click in your responses to the questions. Full information is provided in the online classrooms.
* Student Resource Center: there is a link for access to a web page “Student Resource Center.” The Resource Center provides for easy access to all of our policies/procedures and additional information regarding applying for certification. We also have many links to many outside reference sites, such as online libraries that you may freely access.
* Online Evaluation: there is a link in the classroom where you may access the course evaluation. All students completing a course, must, without exception, complete the course evaluation.
* Faculty Access Information: you will have access to your instructor’s online resume/biography, as well as your instructor’s specific contact information.
* Additional Learning Materials: some faculty have prepared additional “readings” and /or brief lecture notes to enhance your experience. All of these are available in the online classrooms.
Course Objectives: Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain the role of research literacy and evidence-based practice in supporting high-quality healthcare decision-making
- Identify strategies for locating and accessing relevant medical literature using appropriate information resources
- Differentiate among common healthcare research designs and explain the strengths and limitations of each for answering specific clinical questions
- Appraise the quality, validity, and methodological rigor of published research findings
- Assess how bias, confounding, and methodological limitations influence the interpretation of healthcare research
- Interpret commonly reported statistical findings, including measures of effect, statistical significance, and evidence strength, and distinguish statistical significance from clinical significance
- Apply principles of critical appraisal to determine whether research findings are clinically meaningful and appropriate for patient care and professional decision-making
- Evaluate whether the conclusions of published research are justified by the study design, methods, and reported results