The Implications of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Malingering, Knowledge Base, and Opinions in Life Care Planning

The current study surveyed 86 rehabilitation educators from 27 universities spanning 17 states teaching graduate rehabilitation counseling students regarding to what extent, if any, they address the medical and psychosocial aspects of traumatic brain injury in their curriculum to students. Students of various disciplines who develop life care plans particularly with mild traumatic brain injury must be aware of the symptomatology and prognosis in relation to long-term medical and psychological care needs. Knowing how to distinguish and assess valid subjective complaints, neuropsychological testing, and diagnostic findings regarding traumatic brain injury is key to developing a methodologically reliable and valid plan. Although results indicate a majority of these institutions cover at least one lecture on TBI, the length of time does not appear to be sufficient to cover this topic in any great detail. Implications for all life care planners are discussed.