Health and Wellness
NOTE: For any health course that exceeds three days in length, please consider other commitments and use discretion when registering for these time sensitive, high-competency courses.
Categories
Assistance with Medications
Learn safe medication support practices, including proper administration, documentation, and client care skills for healthcare and caregiving roles.
CPR and First Aid (AHA)
Gain lifesaving skills in CPR and first aid. Learn how to respond to emergencies, provide immediate care, and improve outcomes in critical situations.
Community Health Programs
Explore skills and knowledge to support public health initiatives. Learn strategies to promote wellness, prevent illness, and improve community outcomes.
Dental Assisting
Prepare for a career in dental care by learning clinical and administrative skills. Gain hands-on knowledge to support dental procedures and patient care.
Emergency Medical Technician
Train for emergency response with hands-on EMT instruction. Learn patient assessment, stabilization, and transport skills for fast-paced medical settings.
Emergency Medicine
Develop skills to respond to urgent medical situations. Learn assessment, treatment basics, and critical thinking for high-pressure healthcare environments.
Health and Well-being
Improve overall wellness through practical strategies for healthy living. Learn habits that support physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Nursing Assistant (CNA)
Prepare for a career in patient care with hands-on training. Learn basic nursing skills, safety practices, and compassionate care for healthcare settings.
Online Health Programs
Build healthcare skills through flexible online learning. Gain knowledge in health topics and patient care at your own pace with convenient access.
Phlebotomy Technician
Train in blood collection techniques and patient care. Learn safety, procedures, and best practices to work confidently in clinical settings.
Wilderness PT: Level 1 (Basic Competencies)
Learn injury care and movement techniques for remote settings. Build skills to assess and treat musculoskeletal issues in outdoor environments.
Course Catalog
Assistance with Medications
Qualify yourself to assist with medications in assisted living, group home, and certified family home settings. Upon completion of the course, you will know the legal requirements for assistance with medications, be able to identify safety factors involved and know your responsibilities and restrictions when assisting with medications. Closed-book written exam and skills exam are conducted at the end of class. Begin studying the course manual* at least one week prior to the class This 8-hour course is taught in a one-day Saturday course or split between two 4 hour evenings. NOTE: These classes are fully face-to-face.
AHA BLS Provider CPR
This class teaches everything necessary to administer CPR in healthcare settings such as assessment of breathing and cardiac emergencies in adults, infants, and children with one-and-two rescuer CPR; adult and pediatric obstructed airway management; AED; and mouth-to-mouth ventilation. Approved by the American Heart Association (AHA) and taught by AHA certified instructors. This class does not offer First Aid training. If you are interested in First Aid training click here. Click here to view our blended learning BLS Provider CPR for additional date options. Note: If the course has listed Pharmacy, OTA, ISU Dental Program, EMT, or other departments it is for their departments only. Please do not register for any of these sections.
Demystifying Dementia Behaviors
As the population ages, dementia (including Alzheimer’s) increases. Caring for a person experiencing dementia can be challenging. What is normal and what isn’t? What is the best way to respond to gain cooperation and maintain the dignity of the person while reducing caregiver stress and frustration? Intended for those interacting with people with Alzheimer’s and related dementias on a regular basis. Section 1 Dementia Basics A broad overview of dementia and warning signs. Section 2 Dementia Behavior This 2 hour session will dive more deeply into the stages of dementia and the difficult behaviors that may accompany them. Attendees will come away with strategies for how to deal with these behaviors and provide meaningful activities for their loved ones. Section 3 Dementia Essentials Information for support -- including caregiver support, legal support, community support and available resources.
AHA BLS Provider CPR- Refresher
This course is intended for individuals who have a current AHA BLS card who need recertification. Must have a current AHA BLS CPR card. If you do not have current card, please sign up for one of our AHA BLS CPR classes.
Community Health Worker (CHW Core)
The core training course is designed to provide core competencies for Community Health Workers (CHWs), Community Health Representatives (CHRs), and other related paraprofessionals. It includes key concepts of public health, outreach, advocacy, community and individual assessment, social determinants of health, health education, navigating insurance, stages of behavior change, service coordination, and more. The core course is offered for Idaho CHWs in 13-week and accelerated 8-week formats and consists of 48 hours of a blend of live online and asynchronous training. Some sessions of this course will require an access code for registration. Please visit the ISU Community Health Worker Training Academy for more information, or email chw@isu.edu. All CHW training courses are offered in a hybrid online web-based classroom. The Idaho CHW classes meet in a live online classroom (Zoom) regularly during the course term; evenings, from 6 pm-9 pm, on approximately the first, middle, and last weeks of class. These sessions are REQUIRED and must be attended live or arrangements made with instructors. The other weeks students will be working asynchronously (self-paced) and will also be required to choose from 30+ available asynchronous Health Specific Modules and must complete five by the end of class. You can access the online class materials, schedule, and the syllabus from Moodle once they are posted. These materials will generally be posted several weeks before a session starts for each CHW Core class. The CHW Core Training is a prerequisite for the CHW Advanced Training and is also required to complete the Idaho CHW Apprenticeship Program. Community health workers are a vital component of the state and national public health and healthcare workforce. "Community Health Worker" is an umbrella term for several different job titles, including community health advocates, outreach educators, peer leaders, promotores de salud, doulas, and patient navigators. For many decades, CHWs have made significant contributions to community-based health promotion, disease prevention, and maternal-child health support. They have also improved the rate of health insurance coverage for underserved communities and individuals. CHWs improve access to and increase utilization of primary health care, reduce costs of care, improve quality of care, and reduce health disparities. ISU offers this training for those interested in becoming CHWs or CHRs. Interested applicants are not required to apply and become students at ISU to take the training.For more information about this training curriculum, contact the Community Health Worker Training Academy at Idaho State University, at chw@isu.edu, (208) 282-2729, or by visiting the website at:isu.edu/chw/ Idaho State University, in collaboration with the Idaho Statewide Healthcare Innovation Plan (SHIP) project originally developed this training. The training program is funded through 2025 by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $2,994,236.00 with 0% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
AHA Heartcode BLS Provider CPR - Online Blended Learning
Heartcode BLS Provider CPR is an online blended learning course option ideal for students recertifying or with a previous CPR background. Students will be emailed a ‘key’ to access the online course. After completing the online portion, students attend a structured BLS Hands-On Session with an AHA Instructor. Students will need to present the course certificate to the instructor at the two-hour hands-on session. Hands-on Session: 2 Hours Fee: $65 (includes an online course, hands-on session with AHA instructor, and certification card) The online portion must be completed and the student will need to present the course certificate to the instructor at the two-hour hands-on session. Important Information: Students will be sent an email within 2 business days of enrollment with instructions for accessing and completing the online portion of the course. To allow time to complete the online component prior to the in-person session, the deadline for enrollment in this course is 3 business days before the in-person session. Students who withdraw from the course after the online access instructions are mailed out may only receive a refund minus the cost of the online component, which is $34. Online learning portion of class: 3 Hours, Hands-on Session: 2.5 Hours
Traversing Wilderness Physical Therapy: An Outdoor, Hands-on Course
This 2.0 CEU-approved course presents a unique opportunity for PTs who love the outdoors to learn how to use their skills in the rapidly growing field of Wilderness Physical Therapy. Using scenario-based teaching approaches onsite in the backcountry, this hands-on course will assist participants to problem-solve while developing innovative treatment approaches for people who become injured or ill in backcountry environments. This course will emphasize clinical reasoning in the wilderness environment, knowledge for specialty practice, professionalism, leadership, and patient management. The instructors are professional educators and PT clinicians who have extensive experience in austere patient care as PTs and wilderness EMTs. Completion of this course can be used for partial completion of the WPTE Wilderness PT First Responder Certification. Contact Wilderness Physical Therapy Educators at instuctor@wildernesspted.com with course questions. Prerequisite: Course participants are required to complete our 6-hour online course ‘Intro to Wilderness Physical Therapy’ prior to taking this course. PT CEUs approval: 2.0 NCAPTA. Disclaimer: This wilderness education course is designed to enhance your knowledge and skills as a value-added care provider in outdoor or wilderness settings. However, it is important to understand that providing patient care in wilderness environments carries inherent risks and challenges. While we strive to provide accurate and helpful information, this course alone does not certify individuals as wilderness medical professionals or experts. Participants should always prioritize safety and stay within scope of practice when applying techniques learned in this course in real-world wilderness scenarios. By enrolling in this module, you acknowledge and accept the risks and liability associated with providing care in wilderness environments and agree to hold the course providers faultless from any liabilities or damages resulting from your participation. Wilderness Physical Therapy Educators LLC © Objectives: Upon completion of this course, participants will achieve the following. 1. Identify the medical-legal and safety concerns relating to prehospital patient care in austere and wilderness environments.2. Use core knowledge and skills as a physical therapist to apply sound clinical rationale for responding to wilderness emergencies and, when necessary, assume leadership of wilderness medical scenes.3. Perform primary and secondary assessments during scenarios that are based on real backcountry emergencies.4. Demonstrate approved techniques for the backcountry management of traumatic and medical conditions.5. Understand and articulate the decision-making process for evacuation status and speed for ground and air evacuation of people who have medical problems or injuries in the backcountry.6. Improve patient functional mobility in the austere environment by improvising un-weighting and providing appropriate assistance and transport in rugged uneven terrain. This course is offered in Idaho and South Carolina throughout the year. Check back for more details and current offerings Instructor Bio’s: Paul Beattie PhD, PT, FAPTA, WEMT Paul is a Clinical Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina whose goal is to develop the role of physical therapists in the wilderness environment. As a child growing up next to the Appalachian Trail, Paul developed a lifelong passion for hiking and backcountry adventure. After high school, Paul served in the 101st Airborne Division in the Viet Nam war where he was exposed to the challenges of providing medical care in challenging environments and decided on a career as a physical therapist (PT). Upon his return from overseas Paul earned a BS and MS in PT and a PhD in Exercise Science while becoming a member of the first group of PTs to become Board-Certified in Orthopedic PT. Over his 45-year career as a clinician, professor and researcher Paul has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers and has been awarded the Catherine Worthingham Fellowship from the APTA. Paul is also a Wilderness EMT and wilderness medical instructor who currently serves as a seasonal volunteer backcountry ranger at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Along with its other founding members, Paul is thrilled by the opportunity to share our experiences through Wilderness PT Educators. Darren Hearn, DPT, PhD, MPH, NREMT Darren is a Physical Therapist who is more at home outside than in any clinic. Growing up hunting and fishing with his brothers and father, he learned to both love and respect the outdoors. Shortly after high school, Darren attended West Point and after graduating in 2002 was soon deployed to Iraq where he gained true respect for the desert environment. In 2005, he decided to pursue a degree in Physical Therapy after receiving it himself and developing a strong interest in helping others return to and optimize performance. Not long after graduation, he found himself happy to get out of the typical clinic and return to more austere environments with the Army’s 4th Infantry Division. He trained with and then deployed with them to Afghanistan as a Brigade Combat Team PT serving over 20 remote locations in the mountains and valleys of the eastern part of the country. It was there that he found that bringing medical expertise to the most austere environments was his passion. He has continued that passion both academically and practically, volunteering with his local Search and Rescue Team, earning a PhD from UNC Chapel Hill in Human Movement Science, and most recently earning his EMT and Wilderness EMT specialty. He also continued his military service, currently serving in North Carolina at Fort Bragg. Darren understands the peace and challenge that the outdoors brings and is excited to share that with as many people as possible. Darin “DJ” Jernigan, MS, DPT, WEMT DJ has been a Physical Therapy educator at Idaho State University since 2002. He is currently the Director of Rehabilitative Programs and Department Co-Chair for Health Occupations within the College of Technology. DJ worked for Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) for 20 years as a seasonal Climbing Ranger, EMS Provider, and SAR Coordinator from 1998 to 2017. He continues to be an avid climber and mountaineer with over 35 years of experience. He has participated in hundreds of Search and Rescue missions involving technical rescue techniques on rock, snow and ice, often with the use of a helicopter. During his career as a Climbing Ranger he adapted and employed Physical Therapy techniques as an EMS provider in austere environments. He has been involved in SAR missions in Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Montana and Alaska. DJ has been a Physical Therapist for over 30 years and a Wilderness EMT for 25. He has been an EMS educator for GTNP assisting with yearly EMT refresher courses as an instructor. He has participated in multiple EMS and SAR related conferences in the intermountain west as a speaker and educator. Climbing Resume: Wyoming: Grand Teton National Park (many peaks/routes, too many to name).Wind River Range - Gannett Peak, Pingora, Wolf’s Head, Sharks Nose. Devils Tower California: Yosemite - El Capitan (Big Walls) Salathe’, Nose, Washingtons Column. Mt Shasta. Mt Whitney – East Buttress Alaska: Denali – West Buttress, West Rib (30 day NPS Patrol) Mexico: El Pico de Orizaba, La Malinche Utah: Zion National Park – (Big Walls) Lunar Ecstasy, Moonlight Buttress, Space Shot, Prodigal Son, Monkey Finger, Touchstone. Fisher Towers - Ancient Art. Castleton Tower – Cor Engle’s, North Chimney. Mexican Hat Washington: Mt Rainier – Disappointment Cleaver, Kautz Glacier Oregon: Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson, Three Sisters Karen Beattie, PT, RYT 500, WFR Karen is a Physical Therapist, Wilderness First Responder and a 500 Registered Yoga Teacher. Living a fitness-based lifestyle is paramount in her daily life and as a Physical Therapist she has been given the opportunity to help others with physical challenges reach their goals. As a yoga teacher she aims to inspire those along their journey with guidance on how to move from a position of strength, imparting an experience of a mindful connection with one’s breath. She considers the guidance for us to be mindful-not only on our yoga mat-but also throughout our days, to be one of the many benefits of the practice and is an essential attribute when responding to Wilderness emergencies. Karen has combined her Wilderness First responder, PT and Yoga training in various outdoor environments including volunteering as Assistant Scout Master and Venture Crew Leader for Boy Scouts of America (BSA). She served as an adult leader and Medic for several 14-day backcountry treks at Philmont Scout Ranch in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Northern New Mexico and has assisted with instruction in Wilderness Remote First Aid Training and Wilderness Survival Training courses over the last decade. Karen serves as a seasonal Volunteer Backcountry Park Ranger (PT, wilderness first responder and yoga instructor) for park staff at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Karen looks forward to sharing her passion and experience through Wilderness PT Educators.
AHA Heartsaver First Aid/CPR/AED
This course is designed to teach lay responders critical skills needed to respond to and manage an emergency until emergency medical services arrives. Skills covered in this course include first aid; choking relief in adults, children, and infants; and what to do for sudden cardiac arrest in adults, children, and infants. This course is ideal for health and fitness coaches, teachers and school staff, lifeguards, flight attendants, and anyone who needs a credential in first aid and CPR, including Certified Family Home. Note: This course does not meet requirements for AHA Healthcare Provider BLS CPR.
Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) - Web Supplemented
Do you want to take a CNA class but would rather take a portion of it online? This web-supplemented course reduces face-to-face time by almost half. Prepare yourself for employment opportunities as a nursing assistant in extended care facilities, hospitals, home health and hospice situations. This course meets the requirements for Idaho certification of nursing assistants. Clinical hours may be outside normal class hours, but students will be provided clinical dates at least one month in advance. This is a time intensive course. Please consider other commitments and use discretion before registering for the course. Face-to-Face dates will be provided the first day of class. Quizzes and lectures will be done online and skills will be covered during lab date. In alignment with state requirements, students are required to attend 100% of the course to complete the program successfully. Clinical facilities may require proof of COVID vaccinations prior to clinical rotations. Note: BACKGROUND CHECK/Drug Screening ISU does not generally perform background checks or drug screening in the CNA program, except in our State Hospital South Course, where both are required. If you have a criminal history that will prevent you from passing a background check you may want to reconsider taking this course as you will not be able to work as a CNA. Please refer to the Idaho Criminal History Unit website at https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/bcu. See ‘denials.’ Once course has begun, you will be ineligible for reimbursement or transfer of course fees. If we are informed of a past crime or positive drug screen during the course, we must inform the clinical agency and allow them to decide if the student can rotate. If denied clinical, the student will be unable to finish the course. This course meets the following requirements for Idaho registration of nursing assistants: 1) 88 hours of classroom instruction (including discussion, videos, hands-on lab experiences) 2) 32 hours clinical experience in health care facilities 3) Guidance preparing for manual skills testing and written exam as required by the State of Idaho for placement on state registry. Additional costs include: Textbooks, BLS Healthcare Provider CPR training, clinical attire, clinical tools and immunizations. Clinical hours may be outside normal class hours, but student will be provided clinical dates at least one month in advance. In alignment with state requirements, students are required to attend 100% of the course to complete the program successfully. Please see registration handout for more information. Accreditation: Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Idaho Board of Nursing, Idaho Division of Career Technical Education Computer requirements: A computer and hard drive with adequate memory, high-speed Internet access, up-to-date internet browser, basic Microsoft package (Word), Adobe Acrobat Reader.