OVERVIEW

Understanding the Complete Blood Count (CBC) is organized by RnCeus Interactive.

Course Overview:
The goal of this program is to provide nurses and other healthcare professionals with information about the complete blood count (CBC). Program content emphasizes the purpose of each test, provides normal values, and discusses interpretation of results. A special section on nursing diagnoses associated with the abnormal CBC outlines nursing interventions

Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
• List blood tests performed as part of a CBC.
• Recognize the influence of the patient's hydration status on accurate CBC results.
• State normal adult values for CBC test results.
• Describe two physiologic reasons and two pathological reasons for an increase in red blood cells.
• Describe four reasons for a decrease in red blood cells.
• Identify panic values for hematocrit, hemoglobin, white blood cells, and platelets.
• Recognize the purpose of hemoglobin in red blood cells.
• Describe the calculation relationship between hematocrit and hemoglobin.
• Describe the impact of pregnancy on CBC results
• Identify the purpose of erythrocyte indices.
• Describe classifications of anemias based on the results of erythrocyte indices.
• List five types of white blood cells and state the function of each type of cell.
• State the implications of a "shift to the left" on a white blood cell differentia
• Identify common patterns of white blood cell increase or decrease in disease processes.
• Recognize the function of platelets in normal coagulation.
• Formulate nursing diagnoses and describe interventions for a patient with an elevated RBC count, a decreased • hematocrit, a decreased neutrophil count, and a decreased platelet count.