Nurses' Knowledge, Beliefs, and Exercise Habits: A Focus on Cardiovascular Disease
Course #31840 - $15 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Nurses are crucial in educating patients on preventing and managing CVD. However, the demanding nature of their profession places them at greater risk for health issues, including CVD. Despite understanding that regular physical activity is essential in reducing risks for CVD, many nurses do not exercise enough, which negatively affects their health and potentially the quality of patient care.
This course is designed for nurses in all practice settings whose attention to self-care and cardiovascular disease prevention may impact their ability to live healthily and provide optimal patient care.
The purpose of this course is to highlight the relationship between nurses' health beliefs and self-care and their recommendations and teachings to patients, with the goal of supporting interventions to better support nurses' healthy lifestyle choices, self-care, and patient teaching.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Outline the role of nurses in promoting and modeling health and wellness for patients.
- Relate the importance of nurses' health to performance and patient care.
- Discuss strategies for nurses to incorporate healthier lifestyle choices.
Tina Schmidt-McNulty, DHSc, MS, ACSM-CEP, RN, is an instructor in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her academic foundation in health, exercise instruction/programming, and nursing is strengthened by specialized certifications in clinical exercise physiology and group fitness. Her professional background includes clinical nursing experience in cardiovascular care and cardiac rehabilitation, as well as coaching at the high school level, where she developed seasonal training programs. She is also an active member of the Exercise is Medicine Clinical Practice Committee.
With more than 30 years in the fitness industry as a presenter, author, coach, and instructor, Dr. Schmidt-McNulty has published numerous articles on special populations and health risk factors, and has led initiatives promoting fitness and wellness in corporate, hospital, and university settings. Her work reflects a commitment to bridging academic knowledge with practical application, encouraging student engagement, and building a strong foundation for lifelong learning in health and exercise sciences.
Contributing faculty, Tina Schmidt-McNulty, DHSc, MS, ACSM-CEP, RN, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Mary Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.