Functional Swallowing Part 1: What It Means and Why It Matters

Description

This webinar emphasizes the critical need for healthcare professionals to adopt a functional approach to dysphagia management, moving beyond isolated observations like aspiration to focus on broader health outcomes such as nutrition, pulmonary health, and patient safety. It examines the variability in dysphagia training and its impact on clinical decision-making, highlighting the consequences of interventions with limited evidence, such as thickened liquids and NPO recommendations.

The webinar introduces the concept of functional swallowing, which prioritizes outcomes like adequate nutrition and reduced pulmonary risks while aligning with evidence-based practices and ethical principles, including “first, do no harm.” Participants will explore the importance of critical thinking and the limitations of overreliance on intuition or tradition. By incorporating reasoning frameworks and evidence-supported strategies, clinicians will learn to assess and address the root causes of swallowing dysfunctions while improving patient outcomes.

Designed for clinicians who work with dysphagia, this webinar helps participants to make informed, patient-centered decisions that reflect the complexity of dysphagia management in diverse clinical settings. Let this webinar inspire a shift toward interventions that maximize function and minimize harm while supporting the patient’s overall health and safety.

Instructor

Learning Objectives

• Analyze current dysphagia management practices, identifying unintended consequences and ethical considerations of dysphagia management
• Examine the reliance on intuition and tradition in clinical decision-making through data from relevant studies
• Compare the traditional focus on aspiration and residue (what we see) with the concept of functional swallowing (why it matters), emphasizing the four anchors: nutrition, hydration, quality of life, and pulmonary function
• Analyze deductive arguments related to dysphagia interventions to determine their soundness
• Apply principles of inductive and deductive reasoning to clinical scenarios in dysphagia management to enhance decision-making skills
• Identify how dysphagia can lead to issues with nutrition, hydration, and quality of life

Agenda

All times in Eastern Time.

6:00pm–6:15pm

Chapter 1: The Burning Platform: Why Functional Swallowing Matters

6:15pm–6:20pm

Chapter 2: Four Anchors of Swallowing, with a Focus on Pulmonary Function

6:20pm–6:30pm

Chapter 3: Reframing Our Focus

6:30pm–6:45pm

Chapter 4: Applying Critical Thinking to Clinical Decision-Making

6:45pm–6:50pm

Break

6:50pm–7:05pm

Question and Answer Session

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