COURSE DATES 2019                         Scroll to Page End for Course Cost

Why complete the Functional Rehabilitation & Exercise Training after Stroke (FRETS) Course 2019?

1. BECOME AN INSTRUCTOR WHO CAN RETRAIN STROKE SURVIVORS EFFECTIVELY

There are many hundreds of people in your own area right now who need your help. You may have never trained a stroke survivor before. Or you may have, but you want to make a REALLY SIGNIFICANT difference within a clear safety parameter because you understand that they want much more than you currently can teach them with your armoury of skills.

They need you to teach them evidence-based and innovative self-management skills. You will learn about the principles of these on the Course from therapists who want you to extend the work they started with them to continue recovery paths towards autonomy and prevent declines. Stroke survivors want to do number of things, such as learn to get up and down off the floor, relearn balance and recover reach and grasp/release of the paretic (weak) upper limb. After discharge from hospitals the therapists do not have the time or resources to perform as much work with each stroke survivor as they would like to… so these people need YOUR help in the community over the long term. Similarly, people who have had a stroke 10 years ago will also need help.

2. BE FULLY INSURED

We work in collaboration with National Register of Personal Trainers (NRPT): the UKs only truly nationwide personal trainer directory that checks trainers have correct qualifications and insurance. Joining plus specialist cover is £180. All NRPT trainers who complete the ARNI FRETS Qual are automatically insured to work with stroke survivors.

MANY THERAPISTS AND TRAINERS ARE ALREADY INSURED TO REHABILITATE STROKE SURVIVORS UNDER THEIR EXISTING COVERS. For example, FitPro states: ‘The ARNI Institute Level 4 Functional Rehabilitation and Exercise Training after Stroke certificate is recognised for stroke patients. FitPro offers specialist populations additional activity specialist populations cover at £65 which runs in conjunction with our instructor public and teacher liability insurance at £55’.

3. GAIN REFERRALS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

Probably the most important part of the Qualification (and the original reason for its foundation) is that you now are able to effectively help the cohort you have trained to help. This is where the ARNI Institute comes in.

If you qualify successfully, you earn the right to join the ARNI Institute, meaning you can place ‘AAI’ after your name (Associate of the ARNI Institute) and carry your own ARNI Institute photocard..

You will be able to take advantage of lots of referrals in your area per year to the ARNI Institute from physiotherapists, OT’s, stroke charities, consultants, councils, self-referrals and referrals from survivors’ families etc. The ARNI site receives hundreds of hits per day due to high spend on Google Ads. This has a sophisticated algorithm, based on many factors, ultimately meaning that if a stroke survivor or their representative types in ‘stroke’, ‘stroke rehabilitation’ or hundreds of other combinations, they will be able to find ARNI quickly. And this means, as representative qualified AAI in your area, you directly benefit from this.

For instructors, the matching service is done like this: we will either email you directly with details of the ‘matching request’ with a full information as possible, or make your details available to the patient/family/carers if you are the nearest Instructor, and they will contact you. Your exposure to stroke survivors and their requests will instantly be ramped up.

We receive at least 10 calls per day at ARNI Central, and the matching service is working extremely well. Email for details, particularly if we have recommended to you, whilst teaching you on the courses, that we would like you to go further with us. As well as taking care to fulfill the requirements of your PCT, we are always looking for excellent representatives of ARNI.

You are also able to take advantage of our continual free advanced CPD courses (worth thousands, over time) & receive ARNI newsletters, materials, publications etc

The 2009-2019 ARNI INSTITUTE/MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY FUNCTIONAL REHABILITATION & EXERCISE TRAINING (FRETS) QUALIFICATION

FOR FULL COST, SEE BOTTOM OF PAGE.

1. The 3 times per year ARNI Functional Rehabilitation & Exercise Training After Stroke Qualification has been Accredited at Middlesex University at Level 4 with 30 credits at BSc Level. The Course is endorsed with Quality Mark (No. 35) from the United Kingdom Forum for Stroke Training and Education. This CPD course is designed to enhance knowledge and skills in the area of stroke rehabilitation performed by for professional exercise trainers, many of whom will be already be training stroke survivors.

2. ARNI runs courses for Individual Applicants, Councils (eg. Blackburn and Darwen, Luton, Bedford etc), Charities (Stroke Association, Different Strokes, Headway, Connect etc).

3. The Director has produced a very comprehensive syllabus of reality task-related training techniques and physical coping strategies over a period of 4 years. The course manual is endorsed with the Quality Mark (No. 86) from the United Kingdom Forum for Stroke Training and Education. This is specifically for stroke survivors and as such, is the first of its kind. It can be used by some to supplement rehabiulitation with a therapist or with a trainer. For many others, it can work as a (free) trainer itself, guiding survivors with 690 illustrations, how to recover better whatever time from stroke the survivor is. Published by Bagwyn Books, it is available for survivors at www.successfulstrokesurvivor.com and also published by Stroke Solutions Ltd. as a series of 5 ebooks on Amazon.

Neurological research experts and supporters (eg, the President of the World Council for Neurorehabilitation, Professor Michael Barnes, who wrote the Foreword for the ARNI Institute’s training manual) confirm to the Institute that indeed: physiotherapists, occupational therapists and personal trainers must be mobilised and facilitated to help at the end-of-line, where stroke services fall off… and that developing their understanding concerning the implications of stroke, and what they can do to help patients in the community, is essential.

4. If successful you will be awarded 30 academic credits at Higher Education Level 4

These credits can be used in a number of ways: …..
• You may use the credits to demonstrate that you have the ability to reach a certain standard of achievement in learning. This may be useful when you are applying for work or training courses in the future.
• You may use the credits as a prerequisite qualification for an application to the MSc in Special Populations at Middlesex University.

You may also put your learning on this course forward towards this exciting Rehabilitation MSc at Oxford Brookes University. 

THE COURSE STRUCTURE

DAYS 1, 2 & 3 – ARNI PRACTICAL & THEORY AT ARNI LINGFIELD

For all applying individual trainers, teaching is done at the ARNI Lingfield Centre, in Courses of 15 to 20 trainers. there are 3 courses per year. Just ring for details of how to register.

During these 3 days, as much practical training takes place as possible from 10.15- 5pm. The training is taken directly from the course manuals compiled to cover rehabilitation of action control in the lower and upper body. Research Updates are interspersed throughout the schedule of these 3 days, and at the start of the Qualification you are given an ARNI folder which includes your Handbook, your Schedule with full minute by minute learning aims and outcomes and pen-drive. All rehabilitation and exercise training is based around the important and annually updated EBRSR: Evidence-Based Review of Stroke Rehabilitation

Please make sure to contact the Director for full info on the next practical course structure. Often, we can tailor this for you so that you can start immediately.

On courses, the Director is assisted in the area by his Instructors who travel to the area to help and to keep up with CPD. A stroke survivor or two is usually present for demonstration purposes (see pic, right).

DAY 4 – ARNI STROKE REHABILITATION WORKSHOP AT THE INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGY, QUEEN SQUARE, UCL

A fortnight or so later, Instructors learn practical stroke rehabilitation theory from the clinicians at the Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, UCL, facilitated by long-term ARNI supporter, Professor Nick Ward. You will learn about stroke in much greater depth from experts (on rotation) from the research and practice from the Universities, Labs, Research Groups, Hospitals, Rehab Units, Charities and Associations. You will learn about brain structure, cortical remapping, treatment of brain damage, how the motor cortex (M1) controls voluntary action, somatosensation and how deficits affect perception and control of action.

You will learn about neuroimaging, diagnoses and management of acute stroke, restorative neurology, organisation of care, national standards and clinical protocols, the role of the neurophysiotherapist and occupational therapists, the neuropsychologist and the speech therapist, about swallowing problems, reasoning, planning and learning problems and how to help stroke survivors regain self confidence and self esteem.

Interventions such as robotics, virtual reality, BOTOX, FES etc are discussed, along with other training paradigms (eg. CIMT, bilateral training, mirror neuron work) and issues such as negating the use of AFOs and the role of products such as active orthotics (eg Saeboflex). On each course, a stroke survivor panel is present. Instructors are given further resources and web-links in preparation for assessment. 12 email updates are sent during the life span of the course to point you to youtube videos we have made to help you, for instance, easily put together a CAHAI (Chedoke Arm and Hand Activity Impairment) kit that you can use with stroke survivors.

Example Course Feedback Cohort 1 2013

Example Course Feedback Cohort 2 2016

Example Course Feedback Cohort 2 2018

For example: ARNI Institute Lecturers/Speakers include:

SAMPLE THEORY DAYS ABOVE

DAY 5 – 1 FULL DAY OR 2 HALF DAYS – SHADOWING AT ARNI LINGFIELD

Each of these is a one-to-one intensive full-day conducted by Director (which you can assist with) for one survivor and their family, for you to see how techniques work in practice. You get to understand how to manage degrees of functional recovery, how to understand multiple action control requirements and how the variables controlling these correspond to many other different factors… most particularly the evidence-base for stroke rehabilitation. Optional after this: you can also view training at Group classes as available, in order to examine differentiation of training.

DAY 6 – ASSESSMENT OF SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

6 weeks or so later, after shadowing, assessments of knowledge and skills take place at the ARNI centre in Lingfield. We have hundreds of ARNI stroke survivors available (we already have their GPs notes and are usually still actively training them) who are contacted to check if they would like to come along to help with your Assessment. You will be allocated one stroke survivor to train on a one to one basis.

a)

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b) You will then be allocated to a stroke survivor. Training skills are then assessed to according to Accreditation criteria, with guidance as sought. To give you an idea of what we expect: within each hour and a half class, each stroke survivor should have done something significant under the guidance of the Instructors that they had not been able to do post-stroke. See video below for example of sum-up from group.

Read some feedback from one of the stroke survivors (Anne) in 2009. And Anne-Marie in 2010.

c) You will are then do short a 2-part Stroke Knowledge test which requires answering short MCQs and written answers to demonstrate your understanding of the care pathway and current applications of interventions post-stroke.

There is then a case study, which you type, using their notes from the practical assessments you did on the Assessment day. You also, using the current stroke literature and evidence base, research a relevant (for the stroke survivor in question) physical issue and lastly indicate future rehabilitation & exercise training suggestions via a 3 week class-plan, which is then assessed.

2019 Course Cost: JUST £424 time two. NO VAT PAID – THIS IS ALL YOU PAY.

*HALF COURSE COST (£424.50) UPFRONT AND THE REST BEFORE ASSESSMENT DAY

2019 APPLICATION FORM

COURSE COST BURSARIES AND TRAVEL BURSARIES ARE SOMETIMES MADE AVAILABLE BY UPON CONSIDERATION.

FOR ALL 2019 COURSE DATES CLICK HERE