This activity focuses on Jacqui, a woman with Down syndrome who presents to her GP for her annual health assessment.

After working through this module you should be able to:

• Appreciate the health inequalities experienced by people with intellectual disabilities, the barriers to health equity and the role of the GP and practice nurse in addressing them
• explain the implications of an aetiologic diagnosis of intellectual disability for medical care
• justify the importance of proactive orderly health management and preventative health strategies for people with an intellectual disability
• perform a health assessment using the documentation provided by Medicare for Items 718 and 719
• compare the opportunities of working with a practice nurse to provide health assessments with the clinical situation of a doctor providing these alone

This is the first of six activities that that have been developed through an education grant from the Department of Health and Ageing and written by Monash University, Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria.

Thomas is an 18 year old student who has been a patient of yours for many years, along with his family, with whom you also have a good relationship.

This month's Case of the Month is moderated by Dr Ron McCoy.

This is an updated educational activity covering management issues of menstruation from menarche to menopause, both normal and abnormal. Feedback is displayed immediately on submission of your response to each question.

On completion of this activity you should be able to:

• Understand normal female pubertal development
• Be aware of a range of menstrual problems and the life phases at which they more commonly occur
• Identify appropriate management options for these conditions
• Understand the safety profiles of medications used to treat menstrual pain
• Use a mnemonic for ‘NSAIDs’ to remember to discuss two key points with patients regarding the effective use of NSAIDs for treating menstrual pain

Learn more about palliative care in aged care homes by completing the two new activities available on gplearning. The Education Resource and Multiple Choice Questions use evidence-based information from the NHMRC document: Guidelines for a Palliative Approach in Residential Aged Care – Enhanced version 2006.

RACGP QA&CPD Category 2 points for these activities have been approved.

Whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) are the single most frequently recorded injury among people injured in motor vehicle accidents who claim compensation in NSW. It is involved in 45 percent of all claims and accounts for approximately 27 percent of total costs to the scheme.

The review of prognostic factors found pain and disability persist in a majority of people with WAD at three months (60%) post injury and remain in a significant number of people at six and twelve months after injury.

In response to the high cost and poor prognosis associated with WAD, the Motor Accidents Authority of NSW (MAA) has developed new guidelines for the management of Acute WAD and this educational package has been adapted from those guidelines.

Upon completing these learning modules you should be able to:

• describe key history and examination findings required to classify WAD grades
• accurately classify Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD) grades
• systematically apply the Canadian C-Spine Rule to identify the circumstances under which cervical spine X-ray should be requested
• identify those WAD patients with potentially poor prognosis
• describe key counselling and management outcomes for people with whiplash
• systematically prescribe the current recommended treatments for acute WAD to optimise patient outcomes and reduce risk of developing ongoing chronic neck pain .

A new online learning activity designed to support general practitioners and other members of the practice team in boosting their skills to meet the various contraceptive needs of women has just been released on gplearning.

The new activity, consists of multiple choice questions, case studies and a contraceptive counselling interview.

The activity, reviewed by Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia, has been developed through an educational grant from Bayer Schering Pharma.

This updated activity uses video and audio to explore difficult issues in contraception for young people including:

• medicolegal issues
• confidentiality, privacy and young people
• male and female condoms
• contraceptive choices
• key issues in contraceptive implants

By the end of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Outline an approach to discussing confidentiality with an adolescent
• Discuss the issues to be covered with an adolescent when they present for contraception
• List available emergency contraception (EC)
• Identify appropriate long term contraception options for an adolescent
• Describe the procedure for insertion of Implanon
• Outline the contraindications and side effects of Implanon
• Increase awareness of the need to implement effective recall systems
• Increase awareness of the importance of systems for maintaining confidentiality

This activity will take about one hour to complete.

RACGP QA&CPD Category 2 points for this activity have been approved.

The diagnosis and management of conditions in older people is one of the most challenging and growing areas in general practice. Complex pathologies which are often multiple make regular revision and updating of knowledge a must for all in general practice.

The Aged Care Part One Multiple Choice Questions provide an interactive approach to reviewing knowledge in this area including:

• Recognising common disease processes in the elderly
• Interpreting pathology findings relevant to illness in the elderly
• Describing typical physiological changes in the elderly
• Identifying causes of common symptoms in the elderly such as decreasing vision and hearing, musculoskeletal pain, tremor and changes in cognition
• Developing management plans for common conditions in the elderly
• Appreciating the benefits of automatic reminder systems to support consistent provision of high-quality patient care

This activity will take about one hour to complete.

RACGP QA&CPD Category 2 points for this activity have been approved.