Physical Therapy Category
Live Event

Caring for the Sickest Patients Without Burning Out: Boundaries, Bias, and Clinical Sustainability

Tue, May 5th, 2026
7:00pm – 9:00pm US Eastern Time
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About the Event

Caring for patients with complex medical conditions, particularly those in the ICU and other high-acuity settings, requires clinicians to routinely make difficult decisions while balancing safety, function, quality of life, and system pressures. These environments place clinicians at increased risk for burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral distress, which can negatively affect clinical reasoning, team dynamics, turnover rates, and patient outcomes. This course explores practical, evidence-informed strategies to support clinician sustainability while maintaining high-quality, patient-centered care.

This multidisciplinary session is designed for rehabilitation and medical professionals, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, nurses, physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners, who work with medically complex or critically ill patients. Participants will examine how professional boundaries, implicit bias, and system-level expectations influence care decisions, team communication, and patient participation. The session emphasizes actionable tools that clinicians can immediately apply in acute care, ICU, step-down, inpatient rehabilitation, and medically complex outpatient environments to support both patient outcomes and long-term clinician resilience.

Live Event
This live online event will be held as a Zoom Webinar. Attendees will have the option to interact through features such as the Chat and Q&A, but cameras and microphones will not be enabled.

Live Event Instructor

Katelyn Whitlock, PT, DPT, MEd, CCS

Katelyn Whitlock, PT, DPT, MEd, CCS

Katelyn Whitlock is a faculty member in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Brenau University. She is a Board-Certified Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Clinical Specialist and currently practices as an physical therapist primarily in the CVICU. She currently serves as the co-chair of the PT in Critical Care Clinical Practice Guidelines committee. She earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from Emory University in May 2018, followed by the completion of Emory’s Acute Care Residency in 2019. Prior to her DPT, she obtained both her bachelors and masters degrees in Exercise Physiology from the University of Virginia. She is passionate about ICU rehabilitation and outcomes especially for complex patient populations including mechanical circulatory support and ECMO. Dr. Whitlock is actively involved in research and has presented at local and national conferences on topics including ICU physical therapy, ECMO, advanced mechanical support, and COVID-19.

Target Audience

This live interactive webinar is intended for Physical Therapists, Physical Therapy Assistants, Occupational Therapists, and Occupational Therapy Assistants. (PT, PTA, OT, COTA)

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 List at least three contributors to burnout or moral distress that commonly occur when managing medically complex or critically ill patients.
  2. 2 Identify two examples of bias that can influence clinical decision-making related to medical/theraputic decision-making or prognosis in high-acuity populations.
  3. 3 Demonstrate two boundary-setting communication strategies that support both compassionate care and clinician sustainability during challenging patient or family interactions.

Kim JH, Kim AR, Kim MG, Kim CH, Lee KH, Park D, Hwang JM. Burnout Syndrome and Work-Related Stress in Physical and Occupational Therapists Working in Different Types of Hospitals: Which Group Is the Most Vulnerable? Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jul 11;17(14):5001. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17145001. PMID: 32664583; PMCID: PMC7399933.

Erbe AM. Compassion Fatigue and Mental Health in Health Care Professionals. Workplace Health Saf. 2022 Jun;70(6):303. doi: 10.1177/21650799221081237. Epub 2022 Apr 29. PMID: 35486498.

Lee SJ, Jung SI, Kim MG, Park E, Kim AR, Kim CH, Hwang JM, Jung TD. The Influencing Factors of Gender Differences on Mental Burdens in Young Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapist. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 11;18(6):2858. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18062858. PMID: 33799650; PMCID: PMC8000823.

Garnett A, Hui L, Oleynikov C, Boamah S. Compassion fatigue in healthcare providers: a scoping review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2023 Dec 1;23(1):1336. doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-10356-3. PMID: 38041097; PMCID: PMC10693134.

Hui L, Garnett A, Oleynikov C, Boamah SA. Compassion fatigue in healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review protocol. BMJ Open. 2023 May 31;13(5):e069843. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069843. PMID: 37258070; PMCID: PMC10255032.

Murphy, K., Tucker, M., Cataldo, L., Sergeant, S., Kuklinski, B., Billings, J., & Jancsy, K. (2025). Assessing and Managing Prevalence of Burnout in Inpatient Occupational and Physical Therapists in an Acute Care Setting. Journal of Acute Care Physical Therapy, 16(2), 39-48.

Disclosure to Learners

CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Faculty

There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

Use our CE Approvals tool to look up your state requirements and how can help you meet them, or log in to your member account to show approvals relevant to your licensure.

American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)

2 CEU hours
Eligible until May 6th, 2026
CE Learning Systems, LLC is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. Course activity approval ID# 15723. This Distance Learning–Interactive activity is offered at 0.2 CEUs, Intermediate, Professional Issues. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.
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Logo: American Occupational Therapy Association

Physical Therapy Board of California (PTBC)

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until May 5th, 2026
CE Learning Systems is an accredited provider by the California Board of Physical Therapy. CE Learning Systems maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
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Florida Board of Physical Therapy

2 CE credit hours CE Broker logo 20-1361602
Eligible until May 6th, 2026
CE Learning Systems, LLC is approved by the Florida Board of Physical Therapy to sponsor continuing education for Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants. CE Learning Systems maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Accreditation of this course does not necessarily imply the FPTA supports the views of the presenter or the sponsors. CE Broker Provider Number 50-315. FLBPT Approval Number: 1361602
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Florida Board of Occupational Therapy (FBOT)

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until May 5th, 2026
CE Learning Systems, LLC is approved by the Florida Board of Occupational Therapy to sponsor continuing education for Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapist Assistants. CE Learning Systems maintains responsibility for this program and its content. CE Broker Provider Number 50-315
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Michigan Board of Physical Therapy

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until May 5th, 2026
Impact CE, a service of CE Learning Systems, is approved by the Michigan Board of Physical Therapy (Provider # 50-315).
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New Jersey State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (NJTPTE)

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until May 6th, 2026
This activity has been approved by the New Jersey Board of Physical Therapy Examiners for credit hours for PTs and PTAs. Approval Number
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New York State Education Department's State Board for Physical Therapy

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until May 5th, 2026
CE Learning Systems (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Physical Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants.
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New York State Education Department's State Board for Occupational Therapy (NYSED BOT)

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until May 5th, 2026
CE Learning Systems (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Occupational Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants.
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Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Athletic Trainers Board - Physical Therapy (OTPTAT)

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until May 6th, 2026
This course is approved by the Ohio Physical Therapy Association for PTs and PTAs. OPTA approval number #####.
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Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners

2 CE credit hours
Eligible until May 5th, 2026
This activity has been approved by the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners for 2 CCUs for PTs and PTAs. APS # 2805075TX. Accreditation Period: 6/1/25-5/31/28
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Event Agenda

Agenda times are listed in US Eastern Time. That is 3 hours later than US Pacific Time. The event starts at 4:00pm US Pacific Time.

7:00–7:15 PM: The High-Acuity care environment and systems that impact burnout

7:15–7:35 PM: Moral distress, compassion fatigue, and ethical dilemmas

7:35–8:00 PM: Boundaries that improve care

8:00–8:20 PM: Bias in the high-acuity patient population

8:20–8:45 PM: Clinical sustainability

8:45–9:00 PM: Case Study, Questions, and Take-Home Tools

All times are Eastern Time

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If you need to cancel your registration for a webinar, please contact our support team for assistance prior to the event. Please note our refund policy, above.

If the activity must be cancelled by the provider, all attendees will receive an email notifying them of the cancellation. The email will also provide details about transferring the registration to another educational activity or receiving a refund of the registration fee. As always, you can contact our support team if you have questions or concerns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Once you register, you'll receive an email with the link and instructions to join the live event. The event will be hosted via Zoom. You may test your Zoom connection prior to the event at the Zoom Test page We recommend logging in 10-15 minutes early to be sure your connection is ready.

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If you need to withdraw 30 or more days before the event, you can do this your self from your current courses tab.

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