Being a psychiatrist and providing care for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) in rural settings has many challenges. In addition to lack of some more robust services (such as coordinated specialty care) and travel distance to care, other challenges exist for a psychiatrist in working in these settings. There may be challenges such as feeling isolated from peers, sparse opportunities for educational events, difficulty with access to REM pharmacies for clozapine or other medications and lack of anonymity in the community to name a few.  

This presentation will be provided by a psychiatrist who has worked in rural settings over her 30-year career starting with the Indian Health Service in remote area on the Navajo Reservation and then in rural Colorado as the Medical Director of a community mental health center. She will share her experiences, how they pushed the borders of her comfort zone at times, and how she overcame some of the challenges of working in these settings.  

The presentation will look at ways to provide educational opportunities utilizing technology advances such as eConsult and Project ECHO (Extension of Community Healthcare Outcomes) which includes an educational component, opportunities for case presentations and the development of a telementoring community of colleagues. 

Format

Recorded webinar, non-interactive, self-paced distance learning activity with post-test.

This presentation was recorded on August 26, 2022.

Learning Objectives

• Apply updated knowledge to attendee's current work or anticipated work in a rural setting 
• Assess possible technology solutions for educational opportunities while working in rural settings that could apply to your population 
• Explain the challenges that may present in rural settings and possible solutions 

Target Audience

Counselor, Nurse/Nurse Practitioner, Physician (Non-psychiatrist), Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Social Worker 

Instructional Level

Introductory

Estimate Time to Complete

Estimated Duration: 1.0 hour 
Program Start Date: August 26, 2022  
Program End Date: August 26, 2025

Ongoing Interdisciplinary Discussion Board

After completing the course, engage with colleagues in the mental health field through SMI Adviser's Webinar Roundtable Topics discussion board. This is an easy way to network and share ideas with other clinicians who participate in this webinar. Access through the discussion tab.

How to Earn Credit

Participants who wish to earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, nursing continuing professional development contact hours (NCPD, formerly CNE), CE credit for psychologists, CE credit for social workers, or a certificate of participation may do so by viewing the live presentation and completing the evaluation. After evaluating the program, course participants will be provided with an opportunity to claim hours of participation and print an official CME certificate (physicians), NCPD (nurses), CE certificate (psychologists), or certificate of participation (other disciplines) showing the event date and hours earned.

Continuing Education Credit

Physicians

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

The APA designates this live event for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. 

Nurses/Nurse Practitioners 

The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.  

Faculty and Planner Disclosures

Instructor

• Lori Raney, MD is a board-certified psychiatrist and Principal with Health Management Associates in Denver, Colorado. She is considered a leading authority on the collaborative care model and the bidirectional integration of primary care and behavioral health.  Her work focuses on service evaluation, gap analysis and design and training of multidisciplinary teams to implement evidence based practices to improve the identification and treatment of mental illness in the primary care setting and improve the health status of patients with serious mental illness behavioral health settings. Dr. Raney reports no financial relationships with commercial interests. 

Planners

• Teri Brister, PhD, LPC, National Alliance on Mental Illness. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests. 
• John Torous, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests.  
• Donna Rolin, PhD, APRN, University of Texas at Austin. Reports no financial relationships with commercial interests. 

Accessibility for Participants with Disabilities

The American Psychiatric Association is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website to people with disabilities. If you have trouble accessing any of APA’s online resources, please contact us at 202-559-3900 for assistance.

Technical Requirements

This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using any of the following:

• The latest and 2nd latest public versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari
• Internet Explorer 11+

This website requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be:  Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.

Optimal System Configuration:

• Browser: Google Chrome (latest and 2nd latest version), Safari (latest and 2nd latest version), Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox (latest and 2nd latest version), or Microsoft Edge (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Operating System: Windows versions 8.1+, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) +, Android (latest and 2nd latest version), or iOS/iPad OS (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher

Minimum Requirements:

• Windows PC: Windows 8.1 or higher; 1 GB (for 32-bit)/2 GB (for 64-bit) or higher RAM; Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content
• Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher with latest updates installed; Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512 MB or higher RAM; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content

For assistance: Contact educme@psych.org for questions about this activity | Contact SMIadviserhelp@psych.org for technical assistance