Pathophysiology: The Hematologic System

89.97

Online

Elective

Course Overview
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.

Learning Outcomes
Upon the completion of this course, the learner should be able to:

Differentiate the systemic physiologic effects of blood and bone-marrow dysfunction from their psychosocial consequences, explaining why both dimensions shape nursing care plans.
Describe a complete hematology health interview that elicits nonspecific symptoms, clarifies functional impact, and records patient language verbatim.
Classify skin, mucosal, genitourinary, and gastrointestinal bleeding patterns and match each to platelet deficiency, platelet dysfunction, or clotting-factor loss.
Evaluate painless nodal masses, bone or joint pain, abdominal crises, and ocular symptoms with the typical hematologic disorders that produce them.
Identify cutaneous color changes, pruritus, leg ulcers, paresthesias, and visual disturbances and relate each to the specific disease mechanisms or drug toxicities described.
Explain how anemia severity and tempo dictate cardiopulmonary signs and contrast these with GI manifestations linked to iron, B-vitamin, or chemotherapy-induced mucosal injury.
Interpret medication, chemical-radiation, transfusion, surgical, and dietary histories that predispose patients to, or exacerbate, hematologic disease.
Describe a systematic head-to-toe inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation—highlighting key findings for skin, eyes, oral cavity, lymph nodes, thorax, abdomen, musculoskeletal, and neurologic systems.
Select the appropriate laboratory or marrow test-CBC indices, differential, reticulocyte count, coagulation profile, immunoglobulins, ferritin, sickle screen, marrow aspiration/biopsy—and interpret changes that define major disorder categories.
Formulate prioritized nursing diagnoses from the collected data and set measurable outcome criteria for each.
Implement multimodal pain control, positioning, range-of-motion, and energy-conservation strategies tailored to malignant pressure lesions, sickle crises, joint bleeds, and bone pain.
Integrate oxygen therapy, transfusion triggers, skin care, neutropenia precautions, and diet modification to maintain tissue oxygenation, intact integument, infection control, and adequate caloric intake.
Outline teaching plans that cover disease mechanism, medication adherence, infection alerts, transfusion guidelines, and coping resources for patients and families.
Apply ABO/Rh typing, antibody screening, major/minor crossmatch, component selection, bedside verification, infusion rates, and immediate response steps for suspected transfusion reactions.
Compare the etiology, clinical course, diagnostic hallmarks, and nursing management of sickle cell disease, thalassemias, hereditary spherocytosis, G-6-PD deficiency, hemophilias, von Willebrand disease, aplastic anemia, pernicious anemia, and iron-deficiency anemia, including current roles for hydroxyurea, factor concentrates, marrow transplant, and experimental oxygen carriers.

About the Author/Presenter
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.

Audience/Accreditations and Approvals
TRC Healthcare/ NetCE
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by TRC Healthcare/ NetCE. TRC Healthcare/NetCE is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
This course is designed for the following healthcare professions (select your profession for details):
Nursing

If you require special accommodations, please contact Colibri Healthcare Support by clicking here:?Contact Us

Pathophysiology: The Hematologic System

89.97

Learning Outcomes
Upon the completion of this course, the learner should be able to:

Differentiate the systemic physiologic effects of blood and bone-marrow dysfunction from their psychosocial consequences, explaining why both dimensions shape nursing care plans.
Describe a complete hematology health interview that elicits nonspecific symptoms, clarifies functional impact, and records patient language verbatim.
Classify skin, mucosal, genitourinary, and gastrointestinal bleeding patterns and match each to platelet deficiency, platelet dysfunction, or clotting-factor loss.
Evaluate painless nodal masses, bone or joint pain, abdominal crises, and ocular symptoms with the typical hematologic disorders that produce them.
Identify cutaneous color changes, pruritus, leg ulcers, paresthesias, and visual disturbances and relate each to the specific disease mechanisms or drug toxicities described.
Explain how anemia severity and tempo dictate cardiopulmonary signs and contrast these with GI manifestations linked to iron, B-vitamin, or chemotherapy-induced mucosal injury.
Interpret medication, chemical-radiation, transfusion, surgical, and dietary histories that predispose patients to, or exacerbate, hematologic disease.
Describe a systematic head-to-toe inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation—highlighting key findings for skin, eyes, oral cavity, lymph nodes, thorax, abdomen, musculoskeletal, and neurologic systems.
Select the appropriate laboratory or marrow test-CBC indices, differential, reticulocyte count, coagulation profile, immunoglobulins, ferritin, sickle screen, marrow aspiration/biopsy—and interpret changes that define major disorder categories.
Formulate prioritized nursing diagnoses from the collected data and set measurable outcome criteria for each.
Implement multimodal pain control, positioning, range-of-motion, and energy-conservation strategies tailored to malignant pressure lesions, sickle crises, joint bleeds, and bone pain.
Integrate oxygen therapy, transfusion triggers, skin care, neutropenia precautions, and diet modification to maintain tissue oxygenation, intact integument, infection control, and adequate caloric intake.
Outline teaching plans that cover disease mechanism, medication adherence, infection alerts, transfusion guidelines, and coping resources for patients and families.
Apply ABO/Rh typing, antibody screening, major/minor crossmatch, component selection, bedside verification, infusion rates, and immediate response steps for suspected transfusion reactions.
Compare the etiology, clinical course, diagnostic hallmarks, and nursing management of sickle cell disease, thalassemias, hereditary spherocytosis, G-6-PD deficiency, hemophilias, von Willebrand disease, aplastic anemia, pernicious anemia, and iron-deficiency anemia, including current roles for hydroxyurea, factor concentrates, marrow transplant, and experimental oxygen carriers.

If you require special accommodations, please contact Colibri Healthcare Support by clicking here:?Contact Us