Abstract:
Nurses play a vital role in providing safe, high quality during the administration and monitoring of blood component therapy. However, nationwide audits have identified significant gaps in nursing knowledge and proficiency with the transfusion process, raising significant patient safety concerns. The compelling need for nursing to be champions of blood management and transfusion safety will be established during this presentation.

Objectives:
At the conclusion of this lecture, the participant will be able to:
1. Define the impact of nursing practices on blood management and transfusion safety in the hospital setting
2. Review critical performance and knowledge gaps in the transfusion process that have been identified nationally
3. Discuss strategies that can be implemented by hospitals to optimize nursing blood management practices

Goal:
The goal of this presentation is to discuss gaps in performance and knowledge gaps in nursing practice and transfusion administration to optimize patient safety outcomes.

Teaching Strategy:
The teaching strategy will be didactic in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, followed by a question and answer period.