Students can now become fully certified in Complete Decongestive Therapy through a unique, fully-modernized online and classroom hybrid curriculum, The Advantage Optimal Access Course Format:

• Students complete the theoretical portion of the course online via a rich multimedia audio and video portal.
• Students complete the practical portion of the course in the classroom in nine days - Saturday through Sunday - thereby only missing 5 work days.
• The Advantage Optimal Access Course Format meets the qualifications of the Lymphology Association of North America for further LANA® Certification in Lymphedema Therapy.
• The Advantage Optimal Access Course Format is approved for CEUs by the Florida Physical Therapy Association, the Texas Physical Therapy Association, the AOTA, and the NCBTMB.

Lymphedema training programs have been offered to American therapists in the United States since approximately 1990. This programming has historically been structured to reflect models developed in Germany whereby theoretical study and practical skills development span a period of two weeks or more in a live classroom environment.

Many students who attend these courses and employers who send therapists to be trained attest to the difficulties encountered when seeking therapist certification under the current training format. Internal Norton School surveys conducted upon completion of Complete Decongestive Therapy certification courses document the following objections:

Employer Objections:

• It is extremely difficult for an employer to absorb two weeks of revenue lost while the therapist is away at training.
• Scheduling two weeks of coverage for the missing therapist is extremely difficult logistically, if not impossible, given a lack of redundant human resources.
• If the employer is sponsoring the student’s lymphedema therapy training, travel and accommodation costs for 14 days can reach upwards of $2,500, making the entire expenditure (tuition plus travel, accommodations, and meals) over $5,000 per trained therapist.

Therapist Objections:

• Employers will often refuse to pay wages while a therapist is away at training.
• Many employers require therapists to expend vacation time in order to attend training.
• Therapists who are primary family caretakers often cannot structure two weeks away from the home.
• If the therapist is funding the training, travel and accommodation costs for 14 days can reach upwards of $2,500, making the entire expenditure (tuition plus travel, accommodations, and meals) over $5,000.

Survey Statistics:

• Students report waiting an average of 2.5 years to be able to attend a lymphedema therapy certification program. This waiting period is attributed to the employer and therapist objections listed above.
• Employers report only being able to send 25-30% of their ideal number of therapists to be trained, thereby rendering most lymphedema therapy programs 70-75% understaffed. This shortfall is attributed to the employer objections listed above.

With the advent of Internet-based content delivery technology, distance learning has become the new model for continuing education programming since the late 1990s. The MD, RN, PT, and OT professions have a multitude of options for earning CEUs/CMEs via these online education programs. Entire degree programs are available via distance learning vehicles, many of which are considered equivalent in value to live instruction. Professional associations approve the contents of such programs by awarding CEUs equivalent to live instruction.

It is therefore both logical and feasible that much of the theoretical content of a lymphedema therapy certification program can be delivered using a high-quality distance learning vehicle without compromising the quality of the educational process, provided that the practical component remain solely within the live classroom environment. Because lymphedema therapists must develop more than cognitive proficiency to deliver the highest level of therapy to lymphedema patients, practical skills must, in large part, be acquired via live practical demonstration, practice sessions, and discussion forums coupled with tangible, tactile feedback and assessment labs followed by stringent testing. Under The Advantage Optimal Access Course Format, The Norton School will deliver 100% of the practical component in the classroom to insure adequate skill levels are developed and instructors can directly assess the performance of each student before a certificate of completion is earned.

The Norton School of Lymphatic Therapy is currently offering the "Nine-Part Theoretical Review" and "Lymphedema Bandaging: Video Practical Instruction" courses to therapists via Internet-based distance learning software. The Florida Physical Therapy Association has fully approved the content of these programs for CEUs. The Advantage Optimal Access Course Format contains much all this content as well as a new video-based course entitled "Manual Lymph Drainage: Video Practical Instruction" along with several additional theoretical reference sections. The enriched and flexible nature of this program has the following tremendous benefits:

Benefits to the Therapist:

• Students can register and begin study immediately without travel or time off from work.
• Students can study at leisure and register for the practical portion independently at a time and location that meets the needs of the busy medical professional.
• Students can digest information at their own pace independent of the additional practical requirements, thereby improving comprehension and retention.
• Time off from work is reduced by 50%, translating into less personal vacation time used, fewer logistical issues for personal/family life, and less earning time lost.
• Therapist-funded travel and accommodations expenses are reduced by 40%-50%, resulting in out-of-pocket savings of $1,000-$1,200.

Benefits to the Employer:

• Therapist time off from work is reduced by 50% resulting in half the amount of lost revenue to the employer and significant simplification of coverage arrangements while the therapist is away at training.
• Employer-sponsored travel and accommodations expenses are reduced by approximately 40%- 50%, resulting in savings of $1,000-$1,200.
• Employers are able to send more therapists to be trained thereby reducing lymphedema therapy program understaffing.

• By reducing the classroom time requirement for Complete Decongestive Therapy Certification, it is the Norton School’s goal to dramatically improve access to the lymphedema therapy field for medical professionals who would otherwise be unable to attend training.
• Using the Norton School's rich online multimedia portal, students will have the best possible environment in which to absorb the theoretical content of the course.
• Because students will be mastering the theoretical content online, they will have far more time to master the practical content of the course within the classroom. Students certifying through The Advantage Optimal Access Course Format will ultimately graduate with significantly enhanced manual skills given the generous amount of attention instructors will be able to provide within the classroom.

For more information about our new course format, please contact us. We are excited to answer any questions you may have!