Pathophysiology: The Central Nervous System
Course #38921 - $90 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
The nervous system is the body's most organized and complex structural and functional system, and it profoundly affects both psychologic and physiologic function. This course discusses the importance of the central nervous system (CNS) to human function and the major consequences of central neurologic disorders. The onset of neurologic problems may be sudden, as in traumatic spinal cord severance or ruptured aneurysm, or insidious, as in Parkinson disease or multiple sclerosis.
- INTRODUCTION
- THE NERVOUS SYSTEM IN HEALTH AND ILLNESS: STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL INTER-RELATIONSHIPS
- PROTECTION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE CNS
- CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM CIRCULATION
- PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS
- RELATED SYSTEM INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS
- PSYCHOSOCIAL/LIFESTYLE INFLUENCES AND EFFECTS
- THE NURSING PROCESS FOR PATIENTS WITH CNS DYSFUNCTION
- NURSING DIAGNOSES, PLANNING, AND IMPLEMENTATION
- CONGENITAL DISORDERS AFFECTING THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
- CNS DISORDERS OF MULTIFACTORIAL ORIGIN
- DEGENERATIVE CNS DISORDERS
- IMMUNOLOGIC CNS DISORDERS
- INFECTIOUS AND INFLAMMATORY CNS DISORDERS
- NEOPLASTIC AND OBSTRUCTIVE CNS DISORDERS
- TRAUMATIC DISORDERS
- CONCLUSION
- CASE STUDIES
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for nurses working in critical care and general and specialty medical-surgical units in which patients with multiple organ system problems are found.
As health care becomes more complex, it is essential that the theoretical concepts of the basis of illness (pathophysiology) be well understood. The purpose of this course is to reinforce the scientific rationales for the interventions nurses perform and the decisions nurses make as patients move through the ever-changing management of their central nervous system disorder.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Identify the key structures and functional inter-relationships in the central nervous system (CNS).
- Discuss structures and mechanisms in place to protect the CNS.
- Describe the components and functions of CNS circulation.
- Discuss the pathophysiologic and environmental influences and effects on the CNS.
- Outline the role of subjective data in completing a full nursing assessment of the CNS.
- Describe objective data compiled during a nursing assessment of the CNS.
- Identify diagnostic tests used in the identification and classification of CNS diseases.
- Outline the nursing diagnoses, planning, and management of conditions related to CNS dysfunction.
- Discuss clinical manifestations of congenital diseases of the CNS.
- Review signs and symptoms of CNS disorders of multifactorial origin and related nursing actions.
- Describe the common causes, appearances, and treatment of degenerative CNS disorders.
- Analyze the presentation and nursing management of immunologic CNS disorders.
- Evaluate pathologic causes and manifestations of infectious and inflammatory disorders of the CNS.
- Discuss the pathophysiology and clinical manifestations of neoplastic and obstructive CNS disorders.
- Outline the concepts and information the nurse should provide for the patient who has sustained a traumatic CNS injury.
Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD, received her undergraduate education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus. There she completed a double major in Sociology and English. She completed an Associate of Science in Nursing at the University of Tennessee, Nashville campus and began her nursing career at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Jane received her Masters in Medical-Surgical Nursing from Vanderbilt University. In 1978, she took her first faculty position and served as program director for an associate degree program. In 1982, she received her PhD in Higher Education Administration from Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. In 1988, Dr. Norman took a position at Tennessee State University. There she has achieved tenure and full professor status. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau National Nursing Honors Society. In 2005, she began her current position as Director of the Masters of Science in Nursing Program.
Contributing faculty, Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sharon Cannon, RN, EdD, ANEF
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.