From medical professionals and coaches to organizations and athletes, concussions are top of mind, and for good reason. Regardless of age and activity level, everyone is at risk for concussions. From motor vehicle and on-the-job accidents to playground injuries and sports-related incidents, young and old alike can be in danger of experiencing a concussion.

Whether you’re interested in concussion training because you have children, or work with children, or you want to make sure you and the other medical professionals in your clinic have complete and proper training, you can’t risk undergoing courses that don’t give you the complete picture.

To ensure you’re following the most current information and staying up to date on best practices, you need full-service concussion courses that offer accurate, extensive training to give you the confidence you need to prevent, recognize, and treat concussions. So, in case you’re not sold that full-service training is best, this post explains the top three reasons that such a course should be your only consideration.

1. You Need Complete and Customized Training

Many courses offer a one-size-fits-all approach, which means the training doesn’t fit everyone’s needs perfectly. While this approach means that you can get the basics, it also means it leaves out information that connects to your specialty. From school nurses and children’s sports coaches to physical therapists and chiropractors, you need training tailored to how you operate and for the types of people you treat.

A customized approach ensures that you not only receive the extensive individual training you need but also offers a way to integrate essential elements of concussion recognition and treatment that helps to customize your care to whatever field you’re in and the types of concussion patients you treat.

Even if you’re not a clinician, many school activities and sports require concussion training. For example, as a parent volunteer you may work as a chaperone on a field trip or at a sporting event. Undergoing comprehensive concussion training designed to meet you at your level helps you recognize concussions and facilitate proper treatment when needed.

2. Training Should Go Beyond Signs and Symptoms

Many concussion training programs offer a solid explanation of the consequences of concussions, but they don’t go much beyond recognizing the signs and treating the symptoms. To ensure you have complete and comprehensive training, you need to find full-service concussion courses that offer other critical elements your organization needs. In addition to concussion training, testing, and resources, to provide well-rounded treatment, you might also need;

  • Extra tools: The last thing you need in your organization or business is paperwork. Anything that allows you to streamline care helps you to treat more patients and treat them more effectively. So, look for concussion training that also offers tools you can use for testing, documentation, and compliance.
  • Information on aftercare: A concussion isn’t just treated once the trauma has been recognized. Just like an athlete couldn’t return to the field of play after pulling a muscle without completing a thoughtful, customized plan for PT, someone who experiences a concussion can’t jump right back into work or athletics without proper aftercare treatment customized for the individual and the injury. Programs that provide a framework for creating individual plans for returning to work and play are essential.
  • Portable management tools: There’s an app for everything, and an extensive concussion training program provides software to track and manage concussion treatment so you can readily pull up or store information on the go.
  • Network access: Whether you’re a community sports coach looking for a clinic for one of your athletes or a medical provider who treats a specific patient population, access to a network of comprehensive clinicians is essential to safe and complete care for concussions.

3. Full-Service Means Getting All You Need

Full-service concussion courses give you all that you need to recognize concussions, offer treatment for concussions, and more. While most training programs provide the basics, full-service courses give you the depth and breadth of information and training that create a fully structured care program for concussions.

Concussions require a full arc of planning and management. From prevention and policy creation to treatment and aftercare, full-service training gives you the tools and access to resources so you can provide comprehensive care that improves outcomes for concussion patients.

From apps and software to updates on research vital to concussion care, full-service courses provide consistent access to all you need. These programs offer up-to-date information and resources so that you can stay on top of the latest developments that affect how you create policy, develop care plans, and individualize treatment.

Because concussion treatment and care are complex, customized training gives you the individualized tools and resources you need so that you can provide the best care possible. Full-service training results in full-service care.  And full-service care results in better outcomes for your patients and more word-of-mouth referrals for your practice.