U-M Movement Disorders Update: Focus on Falls

U-M Movement Disorders Update: Focus on Falls

Date: October 20, 2017

Location:  Laurel Manor (39000 Schoolcraft Rd, Livonia, MI 48150)

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Utilizing both a didactic and case-study approach, this year’s highly anticipated full-day course will focus on neurologic causes of falls and balance problems, including Parkinson disease, normal pressure hydrocephalus, ataxia, psychogenic gait disorders, neuromuscular causes, and dizziness/vertigo. Specifically designed for the busy clinician, this course will provide attendees with high-yield information and clinical pearls for recognition, diagnosis, assessment and management of neurological problems contributing to falls. Participants will benefit from the expertise of University of Michigan Medical School faculty, who will give a didactic lecture for each topic that includes case presentations so that participants can experience how course faculty approach cases in their own practice. The morning and afternoon sessions will end with a panel discussion so that participants have ample time to ask questions. The intended audience includes primary care physicians, geriatricians, psychiatrists, neurologists, physicians in training, nurses, and physician assistants who are interested in learning more about neurological disorders that put patients at risk for falling.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:
• Identify major risk factors for patients with falls/gait disorders and review an assessment and intervention plan for these patients
• Describe how to evaluate and treat falls in patients with Parkinson disease
• Describe how to evaluate patients with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus, vascular parkinsonism, and freezing of gait
• Identify features suggestive of psychogenic gait disorders
• Recognize when patients might have a neuromuscular cause for their falls
• Define ataxia and recognize clinical symptoms suggesting a cerebellar cause for falls
• Describe how to evaluate the patient who complains of dizziness and balance problems

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
The intended audience for this course includes primary care physicians, geriatricians, neurologists, psychiatrists, nurses, and physician assistants who see patients with neurological problems.