Critical Care Series: Oncology and Hematology

Course overview

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. The incidence of cancer is related to long life expectancy; therefore, it is considered a chronic illness. Mortality associated with cancer has sharply declined over the years, increasing the number of survivors that require ongoing disease management. In the past, advanced cancer was considered an exclusion criterion for admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). Now, it is recognized that early admission for monitoring and management of patients with a critical illness improves the probability of survival for patients (Azoulay et al., 2017). This course aims to prepare nursing professionals in the acute care setting with knowledge regarding the needs of patients with oncology and hematology malignancies.