Module 3: Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Systems

Symptoms of various gastrointestinal (GI) and hepatobiliary disorders often overlap, making diagnosis and treatment challenging. For example, symptoms such as vomiting, constipation, and bloating are non-specific and could also be the result of underlying medical history or current prescription drug use. As an advanced practice nurse, you could be potentially responsible for providing care to a patient who may present with non-specific symptoms related to the gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary systems.

How would you proceed to care for this patient? What type of drug therapy might you recommend, not knowing current medical history or prescription drug use? Are there certain drugs you should avoid in ensuring a drug-drug interaction does not occur? These are the types of questions that may guide you in your role as an advanced practice nurse.

What’s Happening This Module?

Module 3: Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Systems is a 1-week module, Week 4 of the course. In this module, you will examine diagnoses for patients with potential GI and hepatobiliary disorders. You also develop a drug therapy plan based on patient history and diagnosis.