Pathophysiology: The Hematologic System
Course #38990 - $90 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Patients with disorders of the blood and blood-forming organs have special needs, partly because a disturbance in blood production or bone marrow functioning can affect every organ system. These disorders can produce symptoms that become life threatening. Many patients' lives become uncertain in a number of ways, as bleeding is often a constant threat; discomfort can evolve into severe pain; recurrent infections that are resistant to treatment can be life threatening; and weakness can become incapacitating fatigue. There may be little energy to devote to family, friends, job, school, or recreation. Therefore, both physiological and psychosocial support are essential nursing measures. Nurses caring for these patients should first assess them thoroughly. Planning and implementing care for such patients must be broad in scope, considering all potential problems and plans of action.
- INTRODUCTION
- NURSING ASSESSMENT: ESTABLISHING THE DATA BASE
- NURSING EVALUATIONS, DIAGNOSES, AND INTERVENTIONS
- BLOOD AND BLOOD COMPONENT ADMINISTRATION
- CONGENITAL HEMATOLOGIC DISORDERS
- DISORDERS OF MULTI-FACTORIAL ORIGIN
- IMMUNOLOGIC DISORDERS
- NEOPLASTIC DISORDERS
- CASE STUDIES
- CONCLUSION
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for nurses working in critical care and general and specialty medical-surgical units in which patients with multiple organ system problems are found.
As health care becomes more complex, it is essential that the theoretical concepts of the basis of illness (pathophysiology) be well understood. The purpose of this course is to reinforce the scientific rationales for the interventions nurses perform and the decisions nurses make as patients move through the ever-changing management of their hematologic disorder.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Outline key components of the nursing assessment of patients with suspected hematologic disorders.
- Describe all appropriate areas to include when collecting a patient history when assessing for hematologic conditions.
- Discuss factors to include in the physical assessment of patients with known or suspected hematologic conditions.
- Compare and contrast blood tests used in the diagnostic work-up of hematologic disorders.
- Evaluate the role of assessing bleeding time, prothrombin time, and other clotting studies.
- Identify other diagnostic studies useful in the assessment of patients with suspected hematologic dysfunction.
- Assess the various nursing evaluations, diagnoses, and interventions that may be appropriate for patients with hematologic conditions.
- Discuss the role of blood typing and crossmatching in the safe administration of blood and blood products.
- Outline the different types of transfusions.
- Provide a plan for the administration of blood and blood products in accordance with the standardized protocol.
- Identify possible transfusion reactions and approaches to management.
- Describe the clinical presentation, assessment, and management of sickle cell disease.
- Discuss the clinical manifestations and treatment of other congenital hematologic disorders.
- Evaluate the approaches to the management of anemia of various underlying causes.
- Outline neoplastic disorders that may impact the hematologic system, including leukemias, lymphomas, and multiple myeloma.
Mary Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and NetCE Nurse Planner. She works as a Nurse Division Planner for NetCE and a per diem nurse practitioner in urgent care in Central Illinois. Mary graduated with her Associate’s degree in nursing from Carl Sandburg College, her BSN from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing in 2013, and her MSN with a focus on nursing education from Chamberlain University in 2017. She received a second master's degree in nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Chamberlain University in 2019. She is an adjunct faculty member for a local university in Central Illinois in the MSN FNP program. Her previous nursing experience includes emergency/trauma nursing, critical care nursing, surgery, pediatrics, and urgent care. As a nurse practitioner, she has practiced as a primary care provider for long-term care facilities and school-based health services. She enjoys caring for minor illnesses and injuries, prevention of disease processes, health, and wellness. In her spare time, she stays busy with her two children and husband, coaching baseball, staying active with her own personal fitness journey, and cooking. She is a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Illinois Society of Advanced Practice Nursing, for which she is a member of the bylaws committee.
Contributing faculty, Mary Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Margo A. Halm, RN, PhD, NEA-BC, FAAN
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.