Meet Your Course Guides

Throughout this course, you will be guided by three avatars. As avatars of real people, they have been programmed to provide information and support you through the activities. All of the content presented by the course guides have been developed by the NAQC team.

What You’ll Learn

This training is organized into four modules. Each module builds specific skills to help you confidently introduce and support cardiac rehabilitation within tobacco cessation counseling.

Learning objectives for the entire course:

• Describe the goals and benefits of cardiac rehabilitation
• Describe why introducing cardiac rehabilitation fits within the TTS role and how it supports the tobacco cessation process.
• Practice strategies for introducing cardiac rehabilitation to patients/clients and encourage discussion with their health care provider.
• Describe responses to patients/clients’ questions about cardiac rehabilitation.

Module 1: Foundations of Cardiac Rehabilitation

In Module 1, you will:

• Explain the evidence-based benefits of cardiac rehabilitation.
• Identify common structural and system-level barriers to participation.
• Clarify your role as a Tobacco Treatment Specialist in introducing cardiac rehabilitation and encouraging discussion with a healthcare provider.

Module 2: Recognizing Opportunities: Eligibility, Cues, and Your Role

In Module 2, you will:

• Describe common clinical situations in which cardiac rehabilitation may be recommended.
• Apply appropriate scope-of-practice boundaries when introducing or discussing cardiac rehabilitation.
• Recognize client statements or cues that signal an opportunity to introduce cardiac rehabilitation.

Module 3: Answering Client Questions

In Module 3, you will:

• Recognize common client questions about cardiac rehabilitation that arise during tobacco cessation counseling.
• Respond to these questions using clear, accurate, and scope-appropriate language.
• Distinguish between information that a Tobacco Treatment Specialist can provide and questions that should be referred to a healthcare provider.

Module 4: Putting Skills into Practice

In Module 4, you will:

• Apply communication strategies to introduce cardiac rehabilitation in response to different client prompts.
• Demonstrate scope-appropriate language when discussing cardiac rehabilitation with clients.
• Formulate responses that encourage discussion with a healthcare provider while maintaining professional boundaries.
• Practice integrating cardiac rehabilitation into heart health and tobacco cessation conversations.

Requirements for Successful Completion:

There are no pre-requisites and there is no fee to participate in the course modules or to receive a certificate. To access the course, go to the Register page.

In order to receive a certificate of completion, you must view each of the modules, answer “Knowledge Check” questions, and pass the post-test with a score of at least 80%. You can retake the post-test as many times as you need. You must also complete the evaluation form. Statements of Credit are awarded upon completion of the activity and evaluation form.

Hardware/Software Requirements:

• A computer with an Internet connection. We recommend Google Chrome for the best experience.
• HTML5 capable browser for video playback. Please note, we don’t recommend Microsoft Internet Explorer.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• For optimum results we recommend a device that has a display capability of 1280 x 720 or better. Mobile devices are not recommended for this activity.