HEPATITIS: RECOGNITION AND MANAGEMENT: 4 CONTACT HOURS

Course overview

The target audience for this education program is nurses who want to improve their knowledge of the various forms of hepatitis and enhance their ability to provide safe and effective nursing care for patients suffering from the disease. This course presents the various types of Hepatitis as well as the pathophysiology, assessment, and care of each. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: 1. Describe the anatomy and physiology of the liver. 2. Describe the different forms of viral hepatitis. 3. Discuss the incidence and prevalence of the different forms of viral hepatitis. 4. Discuss the pathophysiology of hepatitis. 5. Explain the stages of viral hepatitis as they relate to clinical manifestations. 6. Describe the process of diagnosing viral hepatitis. 7. Explain treatment strategies for viral hepatitis. 8. Discuss important nursing considerations when caring for patients infected by hepatitis. 9. Describe the pathology of nonviral hepatitis. 10. Discuss the treatment of nonviral hepatitis. Nurses and other health care professionals must provide objective, supportive care regardless of the cause of the patient’s hepatitis. They must examine their own feelings and beliefs (such as disapproval of persons who use illegal drugs or who are alcoholics) and assess whether such feelings and beliefs compromise their ability to provide the best nursing care. Nurses and their health care colleagues must work to deal with their own feelings and beliefs so they provide the best possible care and support to patients dealing with hepatitis.