Pressure Injuries and Skin Care
Course #34344 - $30 -
- 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.
A complete skin assessment and accurate documentation of the assessment findings are critical elements of the nurse's role in patient care. Nursing staff must be able to perform a thorough head-to-toe skin assessment and accurately document their findings. In order to do this, nurses should have a working knowledge of the general characteristics of the skin, its functions, and the changes that occur in the skin throughout an individual's life span. Identifying patients at risk for pressure injury development is vitally important, as presence of these wounds greatly increased morbidity and mortality. Use of a risk assessment tool, such as the Braden Risk Assessment, is recommended. Each patient deemed at risk for skin breakdown or with evidence of breakdown should have an individualized program of skin care, including nutritional support and patient and family education among other elements. Ongoing evaluation and documentation of the skincare program and whether or not it is meeting its goals is necessary.
This course is designed for nurses in all practice settings, particularly those caring for patients at high risk for developing pressure injuries.
The purpose of this course is to provide nurses with the information necessary to accurately identify, treat, and manage skin breakdown (pressure injury), thereby improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- List the key structures and functions of the skin.
- Describe skin changes throughout the life span.
- Identify causative factors contributing to pressure injury occurrence.
- Accurately identify each stage of pressure injury development.
- Identify risk factors leading to the development of pressure injuries.
- Outline characteristics of a validated and reliable pressure injury risk assessment tool.
- Complete thorough skin and pain assessments.
- Outline an individualized program of skin care, including nutritional support, documentation, and patient education.
Maryam Mamou, BSN, RN, CRRN, CWOCN, is an Irish-trained RN who has lived and worked in the United States for 20 years. During her career, she has completed a BSN and went on to become a certified rehabilitation nurse, a certified life care planner, and more recently a certified wound ostomy and continence nurse. She is a graduate of the wound ostomy and continence program at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and is nationally certified in these areas.
Ms. Mamou has worked in various rehabilitation settings and has first-hand experience of how pressure ulcers impact patients' recovery and quality of life. She has held positions as staff nurse, unit coordinator, educator, and director of nursing in home health care. She has been involved in developing and implementing several staff education programs in a variety of settings. She was most recently employed as a wound ostomy and continence nurse at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, Alabama.
Contributing faculty, Maryam Mamou, BSN, RN, CRRN, CWOCN, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD
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.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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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.