Blood Tests in Clinical Practice - Primary & Community Care

 

 

Course summary

 

This popular, applied programme builds on the fundamentals of interpreting blood tests and provides an understanding of essential blood results relevant to primary care. 

 

Who is this course aimed at?

 

Anyone who already has a working knowledge of blood tests and perhaps already uses blood testing as part of their daily decision planning. Also suitable for delegates who have some knowledge of blood results and would like up skilling as blood interpretation is likely to be an integral part of their in the future. Healthcare Assistants, General Practice Nurses, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Paramedic Practitioners, Physiotherapists (First Contact / Triage etc), Pharmacy Practitioners, General Practice Doctors. 

 

Learning Outcomes: 

 

At the end of the course you will be able to:

 

1. Use our unique 10 point system to make more informed decisions in practice.

2. Decide what to do when the result is out of range, which blood test to request, when and why?

3. Link the blood tests to the underlying anatomy and physiology, into family groups and related symptoms.

4. Explain the result to patients using easy to understand storytelling.

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Course Curriculum:

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• Principles of Blood Testing

  • Outlining our unique 10 key fundamental themes of interpreting blood tests.

  • Reference ranges. False Positive and False Negative.

  • What to do when the result is out of range using clinical decision limits and protocols.

• Full Blood Count 

  • ​Red blood cell count. Patterns of anaemia (Iron, B12 & Folate).

  • White cell count, infection and inflammation.

  • Platelets, coagulation tests including prothrombin time, INR and d-dimers.

• Management of long-term conditions

  • Chronic Kidney Disease.

  • COPD.

  • Diabetes.

  • Heart Failure. 

  • Lipid Profile.

  • Drug Monitoring.

• Falls, Dementia and Hospital Avoidance

• Liver function Tests

  • Jaundice ​

• Kidney Function Test

  • Gout​

  • Albumin Creatine Ratio (ACR)

• Thyroid Function Test 

• Bone Profile

• Autoimmune, viral and myeloma presentation

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The course is available in the following formats:​