Course Objectives

The goal of this program is to provide nurses and other healthcare professionals with information about blood coagulation tests. The program reviews the normal coagulation process, describes commonly performed tests, including normal and therapeutic reference values, and discusses nursing diagnoses relevant for patients with coagulation abnormalities.

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

Define Hemostasis
Describe the 2 phases of the hemostasis
Define coagulation
Identify the pathways to coagulation
Identify the coagulation factors and their respective pathways
Identify the common coagulation tests used to monitor hemostasis
Identify normal values for common coagulation tests.
List drugs that affect prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin values.
Describe risk factors for excess bleeding and hypercoagulation states.
Discuss nursing interventions for patients with specific coagulation abnormalities.