Practitioner Course

Hypothyroidism in Older Patients

This is a highly-practical, clinically-grounded session covering risk factors, screening recommendations, medication interactions and testing best practice.
Format

Online Course
1 lesson

Availability

12 Months OR Subscriber Pass

Duration

1.5 hours total

Presenter

Althea Fleming

About this course

Hypothyroidism is one of the most common diagnoses in clinical practice, and its presentation in older patients is often quite different to what is seen in younger adults. Nearly a quarter of older adults have overt or subclinical hypothyroidism, yet their symptoms are frequently dismissed as just a normal part of ageing, leaving many of them under-recognised and undertreated.

Dr Alethea Fleming, ND, has seen this scenario play out time and again: a patient diagnosed with hypothyroidism decades earlier, stable for years on the same treatment, who reaches her 70s and starts to struggle.
Drawing on a real case of hers, Alethea explores what changes in patients as they age, why older patients need a different approach to dosing, monitoring and treatment choice, and how to avoid the common pitfalls of treating the report numbers rather than the person.

This is a highly-practical, clinically-grounded session covering risk factors, screening recommendations, medication interactions, testing best practice and the safest approach to treatment in this population.
What you receive:
  • A personalised certificate of completion including continuing education hours
  • Clear protocol explanations from some of the world's top practitioners
  • Clinical pearls for improved practice results
  • Access to your audio and video recordings via the App Store
  • A downloadable PDF of the presenter’s slides
  • Links to all referenced research papers and useful clinical handouts
  • Access to the community hub where you can get answers to your questions

From this course you will learn

  • The key statistics and risk factors for hypothyroidism in older adults, including the impact of autoimmune disease and certain medications
  • How current screening guidelines differ between professional bodies
  • How to interpret TSH results in this population
  • Why the Beers Criteria advises caution with desiccated thyroid products in older patients and what the evidence actually shows
  • How to dose and monitor levothyroxine safely in older adults, and when a high dose should prompt further investigation
  • Best practice for thyroid testing, including timing of medication and blood draws for the most accurate results
  • How to weigh TSH, free T3 and T4 alongside how the patient actually feels, rather than treating to the number
  • Practical clinical pearls for managing hypothyroidism in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities and medications

What's in this course

Your Presenter

Alethea Fleming

Dr Alethea Crippen Fleming, ND is a passionate advocate for naturopathic geriatric medicine. She is a 2007 Bastyr University graduate and earned a certificate in Gerontology from the University of Washington. Dr. Fleming also holds a BA from Oberlin College.

Dr. Fleming is the owner and lead physician of the Vital Aging Clinic in Anacortes, Washington where she provides primary care to all adults as well as adjunctive geriatric care.

Dr. Fleming is adjunct faculty at Bastyr University and Middle Way Acupuncture Institute. She is active in local community organizations as well as a member of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians(AANP) and the Washington Association of Naturopathic Physicians (WANP).
All Courses  |  CE Hours   |   Help   |   Students   |   Presenters   |   Legals   |   Reimbursement  |   Become a Member   |   About   |   Contact

Sign-Up to Our Newsletter | Course Updates and News | Freebies and More

More coming your way soon! No spam. Promise.
Health Masters Live  |  Ongoing Education for Functional Medicine Clinicians  |  Unbiased & Industry Independent
The content of this site was recorded in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Copyright MASTERS MEDIA LTD © 2012-2026 |  Building things to make the world better.