Module 1: Introduction

1.1 Course welcome

Welcome to this course about Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course you will be able to:

  • define ‘Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness’ [PDoC]
  • outline diagnostic distinctions within the category of PDoC
  • critique common confusions between coma, vegetative and minimally conscious states
  • list the types of behaviours a patient may demonstrate without this being clear evidence of awareness
  • use this knowledge to help avoid misinterpretations about the patient’s state
  • describe the changing demographics of PDoC patients and identify some variations in different countries
  • reflect on your use of different terminology and engage with debates about the role of modern medicine and how we think about PDoC
  • identify where to access relevant UK guidelines

This course will take about 4 hours depending on your level of engagement with each module.

Course schedule

Some people work through an entire course over one or two days, others prefer to do 20 minutes at a time over several weeks. The course is structured into short units so you can work in the way that suits you. If your employer has arranged for your whole team to do the course refer to the schedule they have organised.

Navigating the course

The course modules are listed in the navigation bar (often displayed in the top right of your computer screen, or at the bottom of the unit if you are viewing this on a phone). Each module contains several short units of learning, bite-size chunks to allow for flexible study. Most units can be completed in under 20 minutes.

  • You usually won’t be able to actually go to a unit until you’ve pressed the ‘Mark as Completed’ button on the preceding units. This is because the units are designed to be done in order, but if you want to jump around a bit you can always ‘cheat’ by marking units as completed before you’ve actually completed them!
  • Click on the module titles now to reveal the titles of the units and get an impression of the overall course contents.

Optional CPD portfolio exercises

Optional CPD exercises are clearly indicated in some learning units. These offer the opportunity to think more about issue such as: How to assess levels of consciousness (Unit 2.3);  The significance of language and different diagnostic labels (Unit 3.3); Predicting patient’s futures and recovery (Unit 4.2) and interpreting PDoC patient behaviours and responding to perceived patient distress (4.3). There are also some optional exercises to support advanced learning around contextualising PDoC through historical perspectives (Unit 5.1);  analysis of social change (Unit 5.3) and sociological theory (Unit 6.2)

 It is entirely up to you (and perhaps your line manager?) whether or not you want to do the extra, advanced, learning. Don’t get distracted by these CPD exercises if you just want to refresh your knowledge of key facts or get the core course under your belt!

Saving a copy of course materials

Some learners like to save a .pdf copy of the core materials, or even print out a hard copy. They use this for their CPD portfolio and to help them keep notes. It also gives them something they can refer back to after finishing the course. On most systems you can save a .pdf by opening the relevant learning unit, then selecting ‘print’ from your top toolbar on your computer, and opting for ‘save as .pdf’.

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Continuing Professional Development

Throughout all our course you’ll be invited to complete quizzes, make your own notes on particular questions and carry out some reflective exercises for your learning portfolio. Set yourself up now with a notebook or a folder on your computer to store your reflections as you work through the materials.

Our courses also involve listening to short lectures and films clips, so you’ll need to keep your headphones to hand if you’re planning on doing some study on public transport or in other shared space.

Assessment and certification

Our online courses are designed so they can be completed via self-assessment with quizzes and self-reflection. A certificate of completion is generated automatically and can be downloaded for your CPD portfolio once you’ve ticked off all the units.

Your first activity

Your very first task before you go any further is:

a) Bookmark cdoctraining.org.uk on your computer and phone so you can always find it.

b) Note whether you registered with us using your work or your home email.

c) Save the password you set up for your Student Account. If you’ve already forgotten  it then use the email address you registered with to try logging in and then go through the automatic lost password process.

Good, now that you’ve secured access – read on to learn a bit about the background to this course.

Now mark this unit as ‘complete’ by clicking the green button (bottom right). This will then allow you to move to the ‘Next Unit’ by clicking the purple button that appears at the bottom.

In the next unit you will have the opportunity to introduce yourself and ‘meet’ others doing the course.