GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION Author's Personal Note: After 25 years, I cannot believe that I am still here after watching most of my friends die. I miss them all, especially Arthur. I am very grateful for all the advances in treating HIV/AIDS I have benefited from and the care I have received from my healthcare providers. I am particularly grateful for the yet as unknown mechanism in my body that has kept me in good health. HIV/AIDS is not going to go away anytime soon and more than anything I want my colleagues to understand the history, impact, treatment and prevention issues surrounding this horrific global health tragedy. It is in this spirit, I have developed this comprehensive course in the hope that it will prepare health care providers with the knowledge they need to make their contribution to caring for those with this disease.       Tom Smith Ph.D. The purpose of this comprehensive, up-to-date, advanced-level multimedia course is to provide an overview of the HIV/AIDS pandemic 25 years after the first diagnoses and to bring together all the information you need in one place. In this course NIH researchers recall, in audio clips, their own encounters, mobilization and discovery of HIV and the search for treatments in the early, confusing and frightening stages of the pandemic. Basic and current information from the CDC regarding HIV, its transmission, infection, how HIV causes AIDS and its origin are provided along with current statistics. Recent (2006) testing, treatment and prevention strategies are discussed that address providers, patients, caretakers and their responsibilities. How HIV/AIDS affects the special populations of African-Americans, women, Hispanics and bisexuals (men "on the down low") are discussed as well as the legal rights of people with HIV/AIDS. The many counseling issues that emerge from the moment of diagnosis to end-of-life issues are discussed, featuring a 20 minute audio presentation of "client-centered" HIV counseling and testing from the 1997 conference on Key Issues in Counseling and Testing hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), CDC's Public Health Practice Program Office, and the Public Health Training Network. In this moving presentation HIV counselors dramatize counseling sessions and comment on the various counseling scenarios and approaches used in a client-centered situation. The course is composed of a couple of dozen articles in pdf and html format. Some are brief and others comprehensive, covering the above content. In addition the course includes one hour of audio material, charts, fact sheets, brochures and instructional materials. Some of the material in this course and in the references is suitable for distribution to patients and clients. The last text in the course is the President's Plan for AIDS Relief Second Annual Report to Congress in December 2005. This report discusses the United States' response and commitment, financial and otherwise, to the global HIV/AIDS crisis for 2006 - 2007. This course is liberally referenced for further study and many Internet links are provided to keep the professional current and up-to-date.