Venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis: implications for medical-surgical nurses.

Nurses are responsible for continual patient evaluation as they address patient needs, provide essential input into evaluation and risk stratification, and make recommendations regarding prevention-oriented strategies (American Health Consultants, 2002a). As a result, nurses are in a pivotal role to prevent VTE. Education about all aspects of VTE prevention should be included in basic nursing programs and must continue throughout a nurse's career through continuing education, reading, and dissemination of information from current health care literature.