IFM Offers New Online Course Providing Protocols for Treating Patients in a Pandemic

Includes Guidance for All Stages of the Infectious Process: Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery

FEDERAL WAY, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to helping every individual reach their full potential for health and well-being, announced today the release of a new online course that provides protocols for patient care at all stages of the COVID-19 infection cycle. The course provides a functional medicine clinical approach to understanding and addressing the SARS-CoV-2 virus, what makes patients vulnerable to infection, and interventions that healthcare practitioners can implement immediately.

The online course Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery: Patient Care in a Pandemic includes a detailed clinical algorithm that provides a framework for dietary and lifestyle treatments, managing comorbidities that influence risk, and targeted approaches to nutraceutical, botanical, and pharmaceutical interventions. This algorithm provides guidance on what to recommend for which patients and at what point in the course of illness. The course also focuses on the importance of the social determinants of health and how to provide care for all patient populations. While it was designed for all healthcare professionals, there are no prerequisites for the course and anyone may participate.

Click here to experience a sample section of the Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery: Patient Care in a Pandemic course.

“The story of this pandemic is about much more than the virus,” says Joel Evans, MD, IFM Senior Advisor to the CEO. “It’s also about the host – the patient. Functional medicine is especially well suited to support patients during the pandemic, with its individualized approach to building immune resilience.”

In addition to one year of on-demand access to this content, the course also includes a longitudinal component to keep clinicians up to date on all the newest research findings and clinical pearls regarding this rapidly evolving pandemic. In the first half of 2021, course registrants will receive free monthly webinar updates on the latest topics of interest related to the functional medicine approach to COVID-19. Registrants will also get email updates with the latest breaking research news and new clinical findings, including information on how to address ongoing consequences of Post-COVID Syndrome that vary widely from person to person.

“This first-of-its kind course explores clinical principles to reduce patient vulnerability to developing severe infection during the pandemic, increase resistance to infection, improve resilience to the more injurious consequences of infection, and optimize recovery from infection and its long-term consequences,” says Robert Luby, MD, IFM Director of Medical Education.

View the expert roster of 19 educators, read through the course highlights, and register here: https://hubs.la/H0ymd7w0

About IFM

The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) is the global leader in functional medicine and a collaborator in the transformation of health care. IFM is a nonprofit organization that believes functional medicine can help every individual reach their full potential for health and well-being. Founded in 1991 and dedicated to the widespread adoption of functional medicine, IFM works to advance education and training, clinical patient care, research, and outcomes in functional medicine worldwide. For more information about IFM, please visit IFM.org.

About Functional Medicine

Functional medicine determines how and why illness occurs and restores health by addressing the root causes of disease for each individual. The functional medicine model is an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness.