NIH Stroke Scale Certification

The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is an exam method that gives health care providers the tools to assess the neurological deficits of people who recently suffered a stroke. Certification is free and available online.

Who Seeks Certification

• The program is designed to provide certification for "emergency physicians, neurologists, nurses, clinical raters and medical students," according to the NIH. It is available in English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Bulgarian, Czech, Flemish and Romanian.

Program Objectives

• According to the program's website, participants will be able to assess neurological deficits in stroke patients, understand the neurological deficits and be able to assess changes in the deficits over time.

Scale

• The scale has 15 items to measure damage in the areas of "consciousness, language, neglect, visual-field loss, extraocular movement, motor strength, ataxia, dysathria, and sensory loss," the NIH says. The test usually takes less than 10 minutes to complete.