Training for Students, Teachers, and Nurses

Through its long-standing partnership with the national Epilepsy Foundation, CDC promotes increased awareness about and acceptance of people with epilepsy and counteracts the social stigma associated with this disorder. One way this is accomplished is through training programs tailored to the educational needs of students, teachers and nurses. The following programs are available nationwide:

Seizures and You: Take Charge of the Facts

Seizures and You: Take Charge of the Facts is an epilepsy awareness program and curriculum designed through a partnership between the Epilepsy Foundation (EF) and the CDC to educate teens and pre-teens aged 11—18 years. This program is implemented by EF affiliates nationwide and educates more than 20,000 students in middle and high schools annually. The program provides school administrators, teachers, students and volunteers with a basic understanding of epilepsy as a medical condition, knowledge about types of seizures and how to recognize a seizure, what to do when a seizure occurs, and — most importantly — what NOT to do. Since its launch in 2005, Take Charge has reached 108,821 students through affiliate programs. A recent EF partnership with Discovery Education Health, an online health and prevention library, allowed another 207,288 students and staff to receive training. EF’s goal is to reach a minimum of 640,000 students over the next three years.

Seizure and You: Take Charge of the Facts Training Materials include—

• Facilitator’s Guide
• PowerPoint presentation for teachers to use in the classroom
• Fact Sheet; Matching Worksheet
• Matching Worksheet Answer Key
• Student Quiz
• Student Quiz Answer Key
• Extended Lesson Plans

The program also comes with two award winning videos: Take Charge of the Facts, and Out of the Shadows: Teens with Epilepsy: Take Charge. Schools may download materials for Seizures and You: Take Charge of the Facts through the Epilepsy Foundation s Web site. Materials can also be ordered through the Epilepsy Foundation’s Web site at http://shop.epilepsyfoundation.org/store/p/737-Seizures-You-Take-Charge-of-the-Facts.aspx.
 

Managing Students with Seizures: A Training for School Nurses

Managing Students with Seizures: A Training for School Nurses is an accredited training program developed in partnership with the Epilepsy Foundation, CDC, and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN). This training is designed to provide school nurses with information, strategies, and resources to better manage students with seizures. The program helps nurses to recognize seizures and their effects, know current treatment options and their side effects, know appropriate first aid, develop a seizure action plan for a student with epilepsy, and provide training for other school personnel on appropriate care for students with seizures. During the past four years, 8,163 school nurses have been trained. The EF would like to reach at least 22,500 school nurses over the next four years.

The program is offered through trainings sponsored by local Epilepsy Foundation affiliates, or online at NASN's Continuing Education Center. Nurses may earn 3.2 continuing education units for the training, and will receive the Managing Students with Seizures: A Quick Reference Guide for School Nurses and Seizure Training for School Personnel: A Presentation Guide and Toolkit at the conclusion at the training. Materials can be examined further at http://www.discoveryeducation.com/epilepsy/ or at http://www.takechargeteens.org/school%20personnel%20training.html .