Transfusion Medicine Essentials

Hematology

Video course

by Anna Wonnerth, MD

Confidently choose the right blood product for your patient at the right time. In this course, you’ll not only learn how blood typing works, you’ll also know what tests are essential, when and why, and if it’s okay to skip parts of them. You’ll be prepared to administer basic transfusions, ready to deal with special situations like pregnancy, and manage complications, should they arise.

2h 24m

8 Quizzes

4 CME

What’s in it for you?

Master the most important skills

Learn the skills experts say you need to master in order to become a great clinician.

Learn any skill in under 5 hours

All our award-winning courses can be completed in less than 5 hours. Most take less than 4!

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Learn wherever and whenever you want. Save on expensive courses, travel, and time away from family and friends.

After completing this course, you will be able to

Master blood type testing
Choose the right blood product—RBC, platelets, or fresh frozen plasma—at the right time
Prepare for and administer a transfusion with ease
Manage various transfusion complications
Prevent hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn

What's inside

Free

Chapter 1

What is blood management?

Master the basics of transfusion. Learn about the most commonly transfused blood products, the importance of restrictive transfusion strategies, and how to avoid unnecessary risk.

3 lessons

10m

What is blood management? intro

Getting acquainted with blood products

Introducing Patient Blood Management

What is blood management? quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 2

Ordering a transfusion

Here, you’ll cover the principles of transfusion in critical care, the indications for various blood products, and how to make transfusion decisions in various clinical situations.

8 lessons

25m

Ordering a transfusion intro

Determining when to order red blood cells

Deciding when to order platelets

Establishing when to order fresh frozen plasma

Coping with critically ill patients

Managing surgical patients

Handling massive transfusion

Avoiding complications in massive transfusion

Ordering a transfusion quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 3

Choosing the right product

In this chapter, we’ll review the tests that are necessary for obtaining a valid blood group, and what it takes to choose the right blood product in the right situation.

7 lessons

23m

Choosing the right product intro

Defining blood groups

Reviewing the ABO blood group

Examining the Rhesus blood groups

Mastering red blood cell compatibility

Conquering platelet compatibility

Mastering plasma compatibility

Choosing the right product quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 4

Pre-transfusion testing

Here, you’ll take a deep dive into the key tests needed to ensure a smooth blood transfusion: blood group typing, antibody screening, and compatibility testing.

6 lessons

19m

Pre-transfusion testing intro

Getting to know blood group typing

Screening for alloantibodies

Crossmatching

Preparing for procedures

Handling urgent transfusions

Pre-transfusion testing quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 5

Safety first

Learn how to correctly prepare for and safely perform a blood transfusion. Master pre-transfusion checks, ABO identity tests, and the safe administration of a blood transfusion.

5 lessons

17m

Safety first intro

Preparing the tools

Performing pre-transfusion bedside checks

Completing the ABO identity test

Administering the transfusion safely

Safety first quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 6

Handling complications

Know what to do when things go wrong. Here, you’ll learn how to assess common risks and complications, as well as recognize and handle severe, or delayed transfusion reactions.

8 lessons

21m

Handling complications intro

Considering risks and complications

Recognizing acute hemolytic transfusion reaction

Identifying other severe transfusion reactions

Managing severe transfusion reactions

Dealing with mild transfusion reactions

Spotting delayed transfusion reactions

Preventing complications

Handling complications quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 7

Practicing your skills

Infuse your newly acquired skill set with real-world experience by thinking through patient cases in the final chapter of this course.

5 lessons

12m

Practicing your skills intro

Assessing an acute transfusion reaction

Managing a pre-surgical patient

Treating a pregnant patient

Practicing your skills quiz

Quiz

Transfusion Medicine Essentials outro

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Chapter 8

Special situations

Manage transfusion medicine curveballs: incompatibilities between mother and child, diagnosing autoimmune hemolysis, and drug-interference with blood compatibility testing.

5 lessons

20m

Special situations intro

Screening for hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn

Preventing Rhesus disease

Diagnosing autoimmune hemolysis

Considering daratumumab

Special situations quiz

Quiz

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Teachers of this course

Anna Wonnerth, MD

Anna is a Certified Family Physician and Specialist in Clinical Chemistry.

Teacher Profile

Medmastery

Nora Drenaline

Hematology

Claim your certificate

All members receive a certificate for completing this course. For Pro members, the certificate comes with 4 CME credits.

CME accredited

All our courses and workshops are fully CME accredited. We provide USA AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and European CME credits (ECMEC®s). Pro members can download their CME certificates upon successful completion of activities. Want to transfer these credits to your national system? No problem.

Learn how this works

CME at its best

Award-winning teaching method

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Medal
For outstanding digital education—Berlin 2013
Highly commended by the British Medical Association
Awarded in the digital category of the BMA Book Awards—London 2017
Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Seal
For outstanding digital education—Berlin 2017
Internationally accredited
CME accredited in the USA and EU with mutual recognition agreements in most other countries.
Trusted institutional partner
Used by residency programs and universities around the world to train their clinicians and students.
Top-rated by our learners
Rated excellent by hundreds of users on Trustpilot, an independent reviewing platform.

What’s in it for you?

Master the most important skills

Learn any skill in under 5 hours

Save time and money

After completing this course, you will be able to

What's inside

What is blood management?

Ordering a transfusion

Choosing the right product

Pre-transfusion testing

Safety first

Handling complications

Practicing your skills

Special situations

Claim your certificate

CME accredited

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Medal

Highly commended by the British Medical Association

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Seal

Internationally accredited

Trusted institutional partner

Top-rated by our learners