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The Landscape of Dementia

A page within Dementia resources for caregivers & professionals

An online dementia course with resources & training for caregivers and professionals.

Landscape of Dementia

Unlock the tools to provide compassionate, effective dementia care. Discover strategies that make a difference in the lives of those living with dementia — and in your role as their support.

REGISTER TODAY!

Course Overview

In this course, you will gain an understanding of: 

  • Defining features of dementia
  • Varieties of dementia
  • Lived experience of dementia
  • What diagnosis entails
  • Best practices for delivering a diagnosis and coping with a diagnosis or a family member’s diagnosis

Additionally, you will explore the importance of:

  • Decreasing stigma around dementia
  • Understanding and reducing health disparities around dementia

Learning Objectives

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

  • Differentiate between various types of dementia
  • Understand the process of diagnosing dementia
  • Recognize the lived experience of dementia
  • Identify the clinical criteria for dementia
  • Apply best practices for delivering a dementia diagnosis 
  • Apply best practices for communicating, navigating and coping with a dementia diagnosis
  • Identify strategies for reducing stigma around dementia
  • Identify approaches for addressing health disparities around dementia
  • Define person-centered care

NBCC

NBCC Approved Continuing Education ProviderUniversity of Wisconsin-La Crosse Graduate & Extended Learning has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider™ , ACEP No. 6303. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Graduate & Extended Learning is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

UW-La Crosse Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

UWL logo

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are a means of recognizing and recording satisfactory participation in non-degree programs. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL) awards one CEU for every 10 contact hours in a continuing education experience. Actual contact hours are recorded. CEUs are included in your registration fee. 

  • UWL CEUs fulfill continuing education requirements for many professionals, agencies and organizations. Professional associations may have specific licensing requirements. Individuals should contact their licensing association before assuming UWL CEUs will fulfill all requirements.
  • UW-La Crosse keeps records of individual CEUs for three years of programming. Certificates are emailed within two weeks of the conclusion of each program.

How to receive credit

To receive credit, you must successfully complete the course in its entirety within 90 days of receiving access. 

NBCC CE Hours: 8.3 
UWL CEUs: 1.9 CEUs (19.1 contact hours)

Dementia is a global issue that concerns us all. Regardless of your personal or professional background, course information is relevant as this is topic that relates to society and health. However, the particular audiences below may find course content especially useful in their fields: 

  • Healthcare professionals (i.e. administrators, CNAs, aides, resident assistants, social workers, counselors*, nurses, physicians, counselors, chaplains) 
  • People living with dementia and their family members 
  • Family caregivers/care partners 
  • Community members 
  • Educators 
  • Researchers 
  • Business owners 

This course is taught in an asynchronous, self-paced online format. It includes: 

  • Video lectures
  • Written lectures
  • Video clips
  • Readings
  • Reflection prompts
  • Quizzes

At the end of the course, you will be asked to submit a program evaluation form/quiz.

The course is broken up into six modules. Each module contains 4–5 questions per credit hour. Quizzes will be multiple choice. You must receive a score of 80% or higher to pass the quiz and move on to the next module. Participants will have unlimited attempts to pass the quiz. Quizzes are not timed.

Erica Srinivasan  Profile of Erica Srinivasan

Specialty areas:

Developmental psychology thanatology (aid-in-dying, disenfranchised grief, ambiguous loss, prolonged grief disorder, COVID-19, medical ethics, writing tools for grief), gerontology (dementia, caregiving, intergenerational relationships, ageism), qualitative methods, applied research impacting community programming and policy development. 

My name is Erica G. Srinivasan. I mainly work as an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin--La Crosse, where I teach courses on gerontology and end of life care, including a course on dementia for undergraduate students and now this course for community members and continuing education professionals. I also offer a grief support specialist certificate through the University of Madison, Division of Continuing Education.

My interest in dementia began almost 30 years ago, when I worked as a resident assistant in a care facility. There were many people living with dementia and I was able to see the difference that quality care and social connections could make for people with dementia. Unfortunately, after working and volunteering in many different care facilities, I have also seen the negative impact that can happen if we don't treat people with care, respect and dignity. These experiences have all influenced me to provide this class. In my work, I have also ran workshops for caregiver support groups and conducted research on the subjective experience of living with dementia and the caregiving and grief experience of bereaved family members of someone with dementia. I am inspired by education and approaches that can help people with dementia and their care partners live a better quality of life. I hope you are inspired and motivated to improve the quality of dementia care and quality of life for people living with dementia and their care partners, too. Thank you for joining this course.

I've designed this course to be helpful for people living with dementia, family members, friends and care partners of people with dementia, healthcare professionals, (including clinicians, social workers and therapists) and interested community members and leaders.

If a participant or potential participant would like to express a concern about their experience with the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Graduate & Extended Learning, they may call or email Amber Miller-Adamany, Professional Education Program Specialist, at 608.785.6528 or amiller-adamany@uwlax.edu. Although we do not guarantee a particular outcome, the individual can expect us to consider the complaint, make any necessary decisions, and respond within 30 days.

Accessing & navigating Canvas (the online course platform)

STEP 1: Activating your Canvas account for new users

NOTE: If you already have a UW-La Crosse Canvas account associated with the email address used to register for this program, skip to "STEP 2: Signing into your Canvas account after your account has been activated."

  1. An email will be sent to the address you used when registering
    1. The email will invite you to participate in the corresponding Canvas course 
    2. The email will have a button that says, "Get Started"
  2. Click the "Get Started" button
  3. Then, select the "Create My Account" button
    1. You will be prompted to create a password
      1. Please save this password, you will need it each time you log into Canvas
    2. You can adjust the time zone if needed
  4. Once complete, you should be able to access the online platform
Email inviting you to your Canvas course. The email will be sent from <notifications@instructure.com>. Click the "Get Started" link to activate your account.
STEP 2: Signing into your Canvas account after your account has been activated

There are two ways to access your Canvas account once you have activated your account.

Option 1

If you leave Canvas and want to return to your course, you may click the button below to access the Canvas login page.

ACCESS CANVAS LOGIN PAGE

  1. After clicking the button, you will be taken to the Canvas login page. 
  2. Select "UW Continuing Education Student" 

On the Canvas login screen, choose "UW Continuing Education Student."

Then, log into Canvas by completing the two fields

  1. Login: <type the email address you used when registering for the event>
  2. Password: <this is the password you used when you created your Canvas account>

Option 2

If you leave Canvas and want to return to your course, you may also click the "Click here to view the course page" link in your Canvas invitation.

Email with Canvas invitation

  1. After clicking the button, you will be taken to the Canvas login page. 
  2. Select "UW Continuing Education Student" 

On the Canvas login screen, choose "UW Continuing Education Student."

Then, log into Canvas by completing the two fields

  1. Login: <type the email address you used when registering for the event>
  2. Password: <this is the password you used when you created your Canvas account>
STEP 3: Setting up your Canvas profile

Set up your profile

Once you've logged into Canvas, update your name in the profile settings. By doing this, your name (rather than your email address) will be visible to other participants. 

1. In the upper left side of your screen, select "Account"

2. Then, select "Profile"

In the upper left side of your screen, click on the "Account" icon. Then, click "Profile".

3. Next, select "Edit Profile"

Select the edit profile button.

4. Then, in the "Name" field, replace your email address with your name. You can also update your pronouns in this area and add your title. 

Change the name field from your email address to your name.

5. Finally, save your changes by clicking "Save Profile" on the bottom of the page.

Click "Save Profile."

 

STEP 4: Accessing your Canvas course

Accessing your course in Canvas

Once you are in Canvas you can open your course in the upper left-hand navigation panel.

  1. Click on the "Courses" icon
  2. Then, select your course
  3. Your course will open and you can follow the instructions on the welcome page

Opening your course in Canvas

If you have questions, please contact ex@uwlax.edu for assistance.

Need help accessing Canvas?

Troubleshooting

If you're having difficulty accessing Canvas:

  1. Ensure that you have activated your account per the instructions in STEP 1
  2. If you have already activated your account and are trying to get back into the event platform, please follow the directions in STEP 2
  3. If you're still not able to access Canvas, please email ex@uwlax.edu for assistance
Registration Type Fee
Course Enrollment $380
Add on:
8.3 NBCC CE Hours		 $20

REGISTER HERE

Course registration includes: 90-day access to the online Landscape of Dementia course and UWL CEUs. 

Refund policy: No refunds once course access has been granted.