Continuing Education for Nurses in Alaska

This education activity will provide an overview of assisted-living, as well as provide readers with information that will help them understand important aspects of working in this health-care arena. Medication management in assisted-living communities is one of the major tasks presented to nurses. Improper management of medications can lead to polypharmacy, adverse incidents, inappropriate behaviors, injuries, long-term irreversible damage, and even death. This course will review the tools to properly manage medications, as well as information that will help the nurse train unlicensed staff so they can contribute to risk reduction. As the role of the nurse in assisted-living expands to include higher levels of care, the nurse must have a better understanding of how these levels of care affect the treatments provided. 

This course defines the significance of MRSA in multiple environments as well as the cost, care and prevention strategies.

The presentation is intended for all nursing professionals involved in delivering healthcare to patients who are at risk for Fatty Liver disease in a hospital or community setting.

Postpartum care can set the stage for optimal maternal and infant health. Unfortunately, maternal mortality rates in the United States have increased steadily over the past 30 years and continue to climb. In early 2018, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released new recommendations to optimize postpartum care. These recommendations propose changes to the postpartum care timeline, elements, and care team. Nurses fill many of the care team roles. This course presents the new guidelines for postpartum care of women, as well as how the nurse is uniquely positioned as a crucial member of the care team. The course reviews the basic physiology of the postpartum period as well as the most significant medical complaints and complications that arise and contribute to morbidity and mortality. The nurse should be able to counsel pregnant and postpartum women regarding expectant postpartum care. This course also discusses the health policy changes needed to implement these new recommendations, and how the nurse can advocate for postpartum women as part of this process.

This course provides current information about wounds and wound care.  Nurses who work with patients with existing wounds or health conditions that make wounds more likely to occur, or nurses who have a desire to increase knowledge regarding the prevention, identification, and treatment of wounds will find this course useful. 

• This course is intended to provide best practices content related to the disorders of the endocrine system as well as related disorders. The focus is on pathophysiology, assessment, and care.

Approximately 30.3 million people of all ages in the United States had diabetes in 2015;  this figure includes 30.2 million adults 18 years of age and older. However, 7.2 million of these people were not aware of or did not report having the disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018a). According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2017), the number of people with diabetes throughout the world has increased from 108 million people in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. Clearly, diabetes is a significant health problem in the United States and throughout the world. It is imperative that the health care community take aggressive steps to reduce the number of Americans who have the disease as well as providing more effective treatment so that persons with diabetes can enjoy their maximum quality of life. This education program presents information on both the impact of the disease and how to provide effective nursing care to those affected.

The integumentary system is the largest system in the body. Diseases of this system range from mildly annoying to serious and even life-threatening. It is imperative that nurses accurately assess the integumentary system, recognize diseases of the skin, and intervene to effectively facilitate treatment. This program will help nurses to improve their abilities in assessment, disease recognition, and treatment facilitation.

This course reviews the techniques of therapeutic communication and presents best strategies for using these techniques when working with individuals who have mental health disorders.

Autoimmune diseases affect a great deal of the population, women more so than men. A good number of these individuals desire pregnancy and childbirth, but their autoimmune conditions present challenges to pregnancy. Most autoimmune diseases improve during pregnancy and worsen postpartum, but some women still experience symptoms or flares during their pregnancies.

What are the symptoms of these diseases and how can they improve or worsen in pregnancy? What medications can be continued and which should be stopped? How will the fetus be affected? This educational course provides the background, diagnoses and testing, as well as the effects on conception, pregnancy, delivery, postpartum, and breastfeeding considerations for patients with multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren’s syndrome, and antiphospholipid syndrome.

Chest pain is a common complaint in the emergency department and requires meticulous history, exam and work-up. While chest pain may be due to non-cardiac complaints such as pulmonary embolism, the healthcare team must correctly identify when a patient is experiencing or at risk of developing acute coronary syndrome. Coronary computed tomography angiography and coronary artery calcium scoring are two non-invasive tests, which can help identify plaque in low-and intermediate-risk patients, and subsequently direct care as needed. There are nursing considerations specific to both these tests including obtaining pulse and blood pressure, administering medications, obtaining IV access and performing a history and exam. 

This course covers the epidemiology, causes and risk factors of addiction. It discusses the diagnosis of substance use disorders and offers a brief overview of medications used to treat withdrawal. The course gives detailed information on the medications used to treat opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder and tobacco use disorder.

This educational program illustrates the critical role of blood clotting in maintaining vasculature integrity and various pathologies that can result when inappropriate coagulation occurs. An overview is provided giving insight to the use of representative antiplatelet, anticoagulation and thrombolytic agents to counter improper clotting.

Healthcare workers dedicate their lives to the care and the treatment of their patients.  In doing so, they sometimes must put their own safety and health at risk.  In 2013, it was estimated that there were 9,200 nonfatal violence-related injuries among healthcare workers. Over the past decade, healthcare workers have accounted for up to 2/3 of violent workplace injuries—a total of more than 67% of all industries and professions—that resulted in time off from work.  This education program provides information on how to identify potentially violent patients, describes techniques to manage patients with violent behavior, and discusses interventions to encourage a safe work environment.