Nurses deliver infusion therapy to millions of patients in hospitals, home healthcare settings, long-term care facilities, outpatient clinics, and physicians’ offices annually. Nursing professionals perform many daily activities involving peripheral catheter insertion and safe delivery of intravenous (IV) fluids and medications. The use of vascular access devices and IV therapy are commonplace in the acute care setting. With that said, clinicians must take caution due to the potentially serious and fatal complications that can occur from inappropriate IV fluid or drug delivery. Patient safety requires that nurses institute safeguards to avoid complications associated with IV treatment.

This is a brief review of how nurses and providers should address maternal hemorrhage in the ED. All emergency departments must be prepared for obstetric hemorrhage, which can cause severe issues or death. 

Maternal obesity has significant implications for both the parent and fetus. This course discusses the risks associated with maternal obesity, updated care guidelines regarding BMI, and maternal, fetal, and neonatal complications associated with increased morbidity and mortality risk. You will also learn about how biases and perceptions related to BMI can affect the quality of care that patients receive and patient outcomes. Strategies to mitigate these risks through interprofessional care involving providers, nurses, and RDNs will also be reviewed.

Alcohol use disorder is a primary health condition that interacts with and complicates many other health problems and psychiatric disorders. Unfortunately, only a small number of people with alcohol use disorder receive appropriate treatment for substance use issues. The incorporation of screening for alcohol use disorders in a general medical setting can significantly increase the number of individuals with alcohol use disorders who are identified and treated. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved 4 medications to treat alcohol use disorder, making treatment in primary care and other general medical settings a viable alternative to specialty care. This course will give you valuable information about these medications as well as several medications used off-label.

This course discusses best practices in operative vaginal delivery techniques—forceps-assisted delivery and vacuum-assisted delivery (OAVD), as well as episiotomy.

The course is case-based, so you will have an opportunity to apply the principles covered to particular patient scenarios. The cases are branched, with different outcomes based on different choices.

Use of OAVD techniques vary from organization to organization. You may, for example, work in a hospital in which forceps techniques are no longer taught to residents. Each section has been organized so that you can move through it quickly or delve into it more deeply, depending on its relevance to your clinical practice.
 

Medication errors and substandard care occur often in today’s complex healthcare organizations. High-reliability organizations remain alert to potential errors and ways in which they can be prevented, regardless of how few adverse events occur. Healthcare organizations with a culture for patient safety focus on identifying the cause of errors and applicable prevention strategies rather than blaming or punishing the people involved in an error. Organizations that focus on patient safety in this manner have higher rates of error reporting and are better positioned to address problems at the systems level.

The goal of this course is to educate healthcare professionals about approaches to prevent medication errors.

This course is designed to enhance the skills of healthcare professionals in conducting effective medication reconciliation with the aim of avoiding medication errors. Learners will explore core concepts of medication reconciliation, review common sources of medication reconciliation discrepancies, and learn practical strategies to minimize errors in the medication reconciliation process.

Neonatal emergencies are frightening and challenging to almost all acute care providers. This course will focus on the neonate and provide a succinct review of resuscitation issues pertinent to clinical practice and board preparation/review.

This course is designed to provide nursing professionals with a comprehensive understanding of the NIH stroke scale. The course will cover the purpose of the NIH stroke scale, how to administer the scale, and how to interpret the results. The course will also include case studies that illustrate the use of the NIH stroke scale in clinical practice.

Two cases are presented. Risk factors, including recurring and nonrecurring, for obstetrical hemorrhage, are reviewed. Delivery preparations and preventative strategies are discussed. Methodologies that better quantify blood loss, allowing for earlier recognition of excessive blood loss, are presented. Management of the patient experiencing obstetric hemorrhage, including a review of current guidelines for blood component replacement therapy, are reviewed.

This course is intended to provide a summary of the key nursing interventions and considerations when caring for a laboring patient who is experiencing Category III FHR patterns. Whereas this may not be a daily occurrence, it is important for the labor and delivery nurse to refresh their knowledge of this critical situation, as well as have a source for quick reference in the future. This promotes ongoing efforts to maintain the highest levels of patient safety and care.

This course is intended to provide a summary of the key nursing interventions and considerations when caring for a patient who has a delayed postpartum hemorrhage. Whereas this may not be a daily occurrence, it is important for the postpartum nurse to refresh their knowledge of the critical situation, as well as have a source for quick reference in the future. This promotes ongoing efforts to maintain the highest levels of patient safety and care.

This course is intended to provide a summary of the key nursing interventions and considerations when caring for a pregnant patient with eclampsia. Whereas this may not be a daily occurrence, it is important for the labor and delivery and postpartum nurse to refresh their knowledge of this critical situation, as well as have a source for quick reference in the future. This promotes ongoing efforts to maintain the highest levels of patient safety and care.

This course is intended to provide a summary of the key nursing interventions and considerations when caring for a pregnant patient who has severe hypertension. It is important for the labor and delivery and  postpartum nurse to refresh their knowledge of the critical situation, as well as have a source for quick reference in the future. This promotes ongoing efforts to maintain the highest levels of patient safety and care.

Heart failure (HF) treatment is costly and requires a multidisciplinary approach. Evidence-based treatment guidelines improve patient outcomes, and it is essential to become familiar with these guidelines to reduce patient mortality. Healthcare team members play a significant role in treating acute HF (AHF), helping to reduce the morbidity and mortality of the disease and decrease the use and costs associated with care. This course aims to educate nurses and nutrition and dietetics professionals in the acute care setting about evidence-based heart failure treatment guidelines.

The current opioid use epidemic has had devastating consequences for those impacted by it. Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is an effective, yet underused, approach to the treatment of opioid use disorder. By taking this course, you will have information that you can share with your clients and their family members about what MOUD is, its risks and benefits, and the types of medications used in MOUD. The goal of this course is to provide addictions, behavioral health counseling, marriage and family therapy, nursing, psychology, and social work professionals in health and human services settings with an overview of what MOUD is, how it can help individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD), and the medications used by providers that treat OUD.

Perioperative providers can BEST prepare for emergencies in the operating room by knowing the responsibilities of each team member and rehearsing interventions ahead of time. When you are in the moment and your heart is racing, it’s easy to forget how to respond or even where supplies are located. Practicing your responsibilities and team interventions ahead of time will help to prepare you for the unexpected. This course provides you with an opportunity to participate in five emergency scenarios to test your knowledge. Time is of the essence when an emergency happens so you must think and act fast to save the patient!

The goal of this course is to equip nurses and STs with knowledge of the responsibilities of the team during a range of OR emergencies. 

Proper surgical specimen handling is essential for patient safety. This course covers best practices for intraoperative personnel to prepare, label, and transfer specimens accurately. Adhering to these protocols ensures that specimens are identified and handled appropriately, minimizing the risk of harm to the patient.

This course provides OR nurses and surgical technologists with knowledge of best practices for specimen handling.

Worldwide, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) accounts for high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality. Early recognition is key to good outcomes. Recognizing PPH, its stages, and how to measure blood loss is essential since treatment is based on the stages of hemorrhage. Additionally, it is important to understand nursing interventions, treatments for PPH, and teamwork and communication needs to improve perinatal outcomes.

This course aims to enhance the knowledge of acute care nurses about postpartum hemorrhage, including its causes, risk factors, and medical and surgical management.

As a healthcare professional transporting patients to the ED, you may serve patients with symptoms indicative of behavioral health disorders, such as depressive, bipolar, and anxiety disorders. In some situations, the ED provider must administer psychiatric medications. However, if possible, it is prudent to defer their use until the patient is admitted to an inpatient mental health facility or seen as an outpatient. In many instances, the reason for presentation in the ED is an adverse reaction to psychiatric medications.

By understanding the causes of stroke and how to treat and prevent it, you can make a significant difference in the lives of those you care for. This course will help you identify the symptoms of a stroke and provide you with the necessary knowledge to provide care during and after the stroke.
 

Septic arthritis is caused by infection and inflammation in the joint and can result in significant damage to the joints. Early recognition and treatment are critical to the preservation of joint function. This course will discuss how to quickly identify and treat septic arthritis.  

The goal of this course is to provide physicians, nursing professionals, and radiologic technologists with information about septic arthritis.

Shoulder dystocia is an obstetric emergency. To prepare for this rare occurrence, your healthcare team should be knowledgeable about the risk factors, potential complications, and the management of shoulder dystocia. In addition, emergency professionals should develop strategies to help their healthcare team prepare for this rare event.

Nearly half of all cases of shoulder dystocia occur in the absence of risk factors, making them largely unpredictable and unpreventable. Perinatal morbidity and mortality rates associated with shoulder dystocia are high, even when properly managed.

Although shoulder dystocia is considered an obstetric emergency, a well-trained obstetric provider and a team of nursing/resuscitation professionals can usually manage it well for the pregnant person and fetus.