30826 Introduction to Fetal Monitoring

Course overview

Nurses working in obstetrics may lack up-to-date, evidenced-based education on the appropriate interpretation of fetal monitoring strips, their etiology, terminology, and the appropriate interventions for abnormal interpretations. Nurses in rural emergency rooms are increasingly responsible for caring for obstetrics patients who are unable to travel to hospitals offering obstetrics care, and might need additional instruction on fetal monitoring. This course discusses fetal monitoring, with topics including the basic fetal oxygenation and physiological factors that influence the fetal heart rate pattern, how to identify and define the components of a fetal heart rate tracing using standard terminology, how to differentiate between normal and abnormal fetal heart rate characteristics, and how to interpret sample fetal monitoring strips to apply accurate terminology and basic clinical reasoning to fetal assessment.