CBIS certification has raised the industry standard for educational pursuit and knowledge acquisition. Importantly, it has numerous benefits for the individuals who seek the certification.
1. It will enhance your clinical practice!
Becoming a Certified Brain Injury specialist will connect you to a wider network of other professionals in the brain injury rehab field. Currently, there are over 7,000 CBIS’ practicing here and internationally- and they are all linked through the attainment of this credential! Being a part of this network can help you problem-solve various challenges that can pop up in practice, learn about resources and tools helpful to practice, and initiatives that you may not otherwise have known about.
Once you become a CBIS, you automatically gain a subscription to the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, which will help you to stay super current on the best brain injury rehab and resources that are upcoming in the field.
Staying up to date on the evidence is not always easy- read this for three ways how!
And of course – there is the focus that requires to maintain your Certification status! In order to maintain the CBIS credential, you must take 10 hours worth of continuing education per year related to ABI practice. Those resources must be from current material – published or presented within the preceding three years. This means that once you gain your credential, you are forced to stay current and on top of new advances – sealing your status as a specialist!
2. It makes you a more well rounded clinician
The CBIS specialist course and exam does not only discuss Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) but also non-traumatic brain injuries (NTBI) – which can sometimes be missed in BI practice. The Certified brain injury specialist course and exam also requires the learner to be versed in mild, moderate and severe injuries – and even touches on disorders of consciousness. This makes us, as clinicians, step outside of our comfort zones and learn more about populations and conditions that we perhaps might not normally have examined.
Brain injury-serving organizations value hiring and training CBIS certified staff, because it allows them to work with and promote clinicians who understand the unique needs of persons recovering from brain injury and staying abreast of current resources in the field. By becoming more well-rounded, you are also establishing your own value as a clinician- go you!
3. It will empower you to develop programs/problem solve
As a certified brain injury specialist – your knowledge goes beyond management and treatment, and expands into advocacy, visibility, accessibility and systemic issues. This places you in a great position to develop brain injury specific programs for your facility, hospital, clinic or community! You will be able to examine the programs from a larger scale and perspective and look beyond your own practice, into the issues facing the brain injury community.
You will also be able to examine barriers to supportive programs where you work, and have knowledge and resources to be able to roll out initiatives and education in your clinic. This will help empower your colleagues on a larger scale, and create more effective outcomes for all clinical staff and patients.
4. Make you a more effective educator/advocate
The act of studying, staying up to date, and being part of a network of like minded clinicians will have another side effect – it will naturally make you a great advocate. You will have the tools you would need to educate patients, family members, and your own colleagues, about what is supportive, appropriate and what is the most cutting edge in terms of interventions and treatments.
Also, you can further advocate and educate by initiating or running a local brain injury support group – another aspect discussed in the CBIS Training course! Facilitating a group where those who have lived with brain injury can share successes, challenges, resources and more will be an incredibly empowering and positive addition to your clinic or community.
Obtaining your CBIS really sets you apart from your peers and shows that you are committed to keeping your clinical skills with the ABI population sharp. It can inspire confidence in your patients and their families and give you the tools you need to assist your patients recover.
Interested in becoming a CBIS? Check out the Certified Brain Injury Specialization (CBIS) Training
Allison Frederick, M.S., CCC/SLP, CBIS-T has been a practicing speech-language pathologist for over 10 years. Allison graduated from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in 2007 and has worked in subacute, LTC and intensive inpatient rehabilitation. She is passionate about the brain injury population and making higher-level neuro education available to everyday clinicians. Allison hosts a brain injury journal club which you could find here for free for all interested.
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