Release date: 5/18/2025
Expiration date: 5/18/2026
Activity Overview
This monograph, Return to Play Guide for Exertional Heat Illnesses, addresses a critical gap in knowledge among athletic trainers regarding safe and evidence-based return-to-play (RTP) protocols following exertional heat illnesses (EHIs). EHIs—including exercise-associated muscle cramps, heat syncope, heat exhaustion, and exertional heat stroke—pose serious risks to athletes, military personnel, and laborers in hot environments. The activity presents up-to-date research, expert recommendations, and practical guidelines to help clinicians accurately identify different EHIs, understand their distinct pathophysiology, and apply individualized RTP protocols that support full physiological recovery. Participants will gain the skills to develop tailored, stepwise RTP plans that consider the specific causes, severity, and context of each illness, ultimately improving patient safety and performance outcomes.
Target Audience
This activity is designed for an audience of Nurses, Nurse Practitioners and Athletic Trainers.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of the educational activity, participants should be able to:
- Identify the pathophysiology between the different exertional heat illnesses (EHIs) and the potential sequelae associated with EHI.
- Identify various objective measures that can be used during a progressive return to activity following EHI.
- Generate a return to participation protocol that can be modified and personalized to ensure a safe return to participation following EHI.
Criteria for Success
To obtain a certificate of completion, a score of 80% or better on the post-test is required. Please proceed with the activity until you have successfully completed this program, answered all test questions, completed the post-test and evaluation, and have received a digital copy of your certificate. You must participate in the entire activity to receive credit. There is no fee to participate in this activity. If you have questions about this activity, please contact AKH Inc. at [email protected].
CE credit provided by AKH Inc., Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare.
In support of improving patient care, AKH Inc., Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Nurses
Credit being awarded: 1.0 ANCC contact hours.
Physician Associate
AKH Inc., Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare has been authorized by the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for 1.0 AAPA Category 1 CME credits. Approval is valid until 12/1/2025. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.
Athletic Trainers
Company Name (BOC AP#: JA0007034) is approved by the Board of Certification, Inc. to provide continuing education to Athletic Trainers (ATs). This program is eligible for a maximum of 1.0 Category A hours/CEUs. ATs should claim only those hours actually spent in the educational program.
Nurse Practitioner
AKH Inc., Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare is accredited by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners as an approved provider of nurse practitioner continuing education. Provider number: 030803. This activity is approved for 1 contact hour(s) (which includes 0 hour(s) of pharmacology).
Commercial Support
There is no commercial support for this activity.
Rebecca M. Lopez, PhD, ATC, CSCS, FNATA
Dr. Rebecca Lopez is a certified athletic trainer through the Board of Certification. She received her B.S. and M.S. in athletic training at Florida International University and completed her PhD in exercise science from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Lopez is also an NSCA certified strength & conditioning specialist and an ACSM certified exercise physiologist. Dr. Lopez joined the University of South Florida (USF) in 2010 and is currently a tenured Professor in the Athletic Training Program within the School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences and the Morsani College of Medicine. She is a Fellow of the NATA and is the School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences’ Assistant School Director for Cultural Enrichment & Environment. Dr. Lopez is a board member on the Medical & Science Advisory Board for the Korey Stringer Institute, and she is currently serving as a Vice Chair of the NATA’s DEIA Council. Her clinical athletic training experiences include working in the secondary school setting in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, women’s professional football, per diem athletic events, and mass medical events. Dr. Lopez’s research interests include exertional heat stroke and other heat illnesses, hydration, preventing sudden death in sports, and creating an inclusive environment in athletic training. Her passion is educating athletic training students, athletic trainers, and other clinicians on the evidence-based prevention, recognition, and treatment of exertional heat stroke.
| DISCLOSURES | ||
| Name | Relationship | Commercial Interest |
| Rebecca M. Lopez, PhD, ATC, CSCS, FNATA (faculty) | N/A | Nothing to disclose |
| Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN – VP, Healthcare Continuing Education and Operations | N/A | Nothing to disclose |
| Bernadette Makar, MSN, APRN-BC, NP-C (planner/reviewer) | N/A | Nothing to disclose |
| AKH Inc Staff and Planners | N/A | Nothing to disclose |
| All of the relevant financial relationships listed for these individuals have been mitigated. | ||
It is the policy of AKH Inc. to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, scientific rigor, and integrity in all of its continuing education activities. The author must disclose to the participants any significant relationships with ineligible companies whose products or devices may be mentioned in the activity or with the commercial supporter of this continuing education activity. Identified conflicts of interest are mitigated by AKH prior to accreditation of the activity. AKH planners and reviewers have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
Disclosure of Unlabeled Use and Investigational Product
This educational activity may include discussion of uses of agents that are investigational and/or unapproved by the FDA. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.
Disclaimer
This course is designed solely to provide the healthcare professional with information to assist in his/her practice and professional development and is not to be considered a diagnostic tool to replace professional advice or treatment. The course serves as a general guide to the healthcare professional, and therefore, cannot be considered as giving legal, nursing, medical, or other professional advice in specific cases. AKH Inc. specifically disclaim responsibility for any adverse consequences resulting directly or indirectly from information in the course, for undetected error, or through participant’s misunderstanding of the content.
