What Do I Include in CEUs?
Recently I took on another challenge, writing a CEU module. When I agreed to do it, I thought no problem. This is what I teach. I already have an outline and references. I can just fill in the words. After I started writing, I realized something. When I teach, I have lots of material to cover so spend little time on any one thing. The CEU module is only one thing.
Back to the references I went. Since I hadn't researched the topic in a while, I found a few newer ones. Then I went through the articles I've saved. Some were detailed, others not so much. Now I'm stuck. The problem isn't the actual writing. I don't know what to include. I've read CEUs that were so far over my head I was surprised I got any questions correct at the end. I don't want that to happen.
For my first effort I chose something I was interested in, neuroplasticity. I'm fascinated by that. Even without consulting references, I'm able rattle off information when needed. I want to know more about it, how it occurs, what I can do to influence etc. What I don't know is how much other therapists know and how detailed my module should be.
I've done enough independent study CEU modules to be familiar with the format. There's also a word limit. The challenge is deciding which words to use. I want to talk about synapses and neurotransmitters. I want to talk about developmental proteins. But I think that would be boring to the majority of readers. I'm not sure that many people care about how it happens so much as how to make it happen.
Could I do what I do without knowing that? Probably. But knowing how the processes work makes it easier to figure out what to do next. To put it into perspective, I've tried to think of it in terms of something I don't know. What if I were reading an orthopedic CEU? How much would be familiar? Or better, sports medicine. I know very little about that. Just about anything would be new information. I'd probably have difficulty with those questions as well.
I'm going to be struggling with this for a while. I think I'll write it and then ask someone who isn't so neurologically driven to read it for feedback.