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Home Care Wound and Ostomy Essentials

Enhance your knowledge and skills with wound and ostomy care in the home health setting.

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About this Certificate Program

This program will provide the skills and knowledge to become a competent and confident home health provider with wound and ostomy care. This will include identifying, as well as staging many different wounds one will encounter with the home care patient. It’s essential to accurately identify the characteristics of a wound, document them correctly, as well as address complications that may arise when caring for a patient with wounds. A detailed case study will be introduced to help with these skills. These courses will familiarize one with the holistic approach of wound care which includes numerous topical treatments and how they are used appropriately. Included in this certificate is a course on caring for a patient with an ostomy, which covers identifying types of ostomies, pouching technique, ostomy pouches/accessories, and peristomal skin complications.

Target Audience

Nurses as well as therapy staff that care for wounds and ostomies in the home health setting.

Goals & Objectives

  • Accurately stage pressure injuries, identifying venous stasis, arterial, and diabetes-related, neuropathic wounds.
  • Identify and document wound characteristics and complications.
  • Provide holistic wound care including applying evidence-based practice with topical treatments.
  • Demonstrate proper care for the ostomy patient, including pouching techniques and complication resolution that may arise with the ostomy.

What's Included in the Certificate Program

Courses
Accredited Online Courses*

7 hours of online video lectures and patient demonstrations.

Courses
Case Study Interviews

Recorded Q&A sessions between instructors and practice managers.

Courses
Interactive Learning Assessments

Case-based quizzes to evaluate and improve clinical reasoning.

Section 1: Holistic Wound Healing

2 Chapters

Holistic Wound Healing Part 1: Understanding Causative Factorskeyboard_arrow_down

Course
  • Looking Holistically At Wounds: Case ScenarioChapter 1

    This chapter will dive deeply into a wound care case study. Discussions will follow regarding characteristics of how a wound developed and the complications that occurred throughout the case study. Holistic wound care will be described by different steps and processes that the wound care team provided.

  • Why Does This Patient Have A Wound?Chapter 2

    This chapter will discuss the causative factors of wounds, including pressure, infection, diabetes, poor circulation, and surgical wound dehiscence. Often clinicians may want to put a dressing on a wound to heal it, but without further prevention of what caused the wound, the wound may be very difficult to heal. We will discuss strategies in identifying and preventing these factors.

  • What Is The WoundChapter 3

    Clinicians can assess wounds to decide what the first steps to healing a wound may be. Infection, necrotic tissue, excessive drainage, and what type of wound a patient has are all factors that contribute. This chapter will discuss how to assess the wound so that the first steps of healing can begin.

  • View full course details »

Holistic Wound Healing Part 2: Treatment Techniques and Strategieskeyboard_arrow_down

Course
  • Topical Wound DressingsChapter 1

    This chapter will discuss the numerous categories of topical wound dressings that are used in home care. The various types of wound dressing categories as well as how they are used will be presented. Discussion of a patient example will be described with three different choices of topical dressings for the same wound and how each type would benefit the patient, caregiver, and home health clinicians/agency.

  • Negative Pressure Wound TherapyChapter 2

    We will define negative pressure wound therapy and what its benefits and disadvantages are for wounds in the home. Basics of how negative pressure wound therapy is applied and how it assists in wound healing will be discussed.

  • Strategies for Success: Tips and Tricks for the Home Care NurseChapter 3

    The final chapter will discuss small tips and tricks that can help home health nurses when caring for a patient's wound. These are tips that may help when you are caring for a patient by yourself, when another person in the home to help would be ideal. This chapter will also discuss how to teach a patient or caregiver to better care for a wound with extra little tips.

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Section 2: Wound Management and Complications

2 Chapters

Wound Management: Skin Assessment and Wound Identificationkeyboard_arrow_down

Course
  • Skin AssessmentChapter 1

    We will discuss skin assessment using tools such as the Braden Scale. We will also discuss the importance of regularly assessing the skin, such as on admission to your home health agency, at an important time point, or during a noticeable decline in health status. A case study/scenario will be discussed in this course, with a follow-up at the end of the presentation.

  • Pressure Injuries and UlcersChapter 2

    This chapter will go deeply into the importance of identifying and assessing pressure injuries and ulcers and deep-tissue/unstageable injuries in the home. We will discuss the importance of accuracy with properly identifying pressure injuries as it can affect payment, treatment, as well as qualification for pressure-relieving overlays for bed and wheelchair.

  • Identifying Venous Stasis Ulcers vs. Arterial UlcersChapter 3

    We will discuss how to identify the difference between venous and arterial ulcers and their characteristics. It is important to have a proper diagnosis for these two ulcers, as the wrong treatment can cause further damage. Challenges in home care with these wounds will be discussed.

  • Diabetes- and Neuropathy-Related UlcersChapter 4

    Diabetic and neuropathic wounds are on the rise in the home care population. Characteristics of diabetic wounds will be reviewed. Common findings in the home regarding diabetic wounds will be discussed in detail, including very important information on how to educate the patient.

  • Skin Conditions and Miscellaneous WoundsChapter 5

    Miscellaneous skin conditions and wounds that may not be addressed in a specific wound category in home care will be identified, especially when Oasis assessments are completed. Conditions reviewed include skin tears, deep hematomas, burns (including radiation), incontinence dermatitis, fungal skin breakdown, and surgical wounds.

  • View full course details »

Care of Wound Complications in Home Carekeyboard_arrow_down

Course
  • Wound Complications in the HomeChapter 1

    Infection, wound deteriorations, and stalled healing can impede patient goals in home care for a healing wound. We will discuss each of these common complications, how to identify them early in some cases, and beginning strategies to work on improving patient outcomes. A patient example will be introduced that will be referred to throughout the course for illustration purposes.

  • Wound-Related Anatomy and Proper Descriptors of FindingsChapter 2

    Properly identifying a wound's anatomy and describing its characteristics is extremely important for a patient's continuity of care as well as being able to identify changes from one home visit to the next. We will discuss what healthy and nonhealthy tissue looks like and how it can be described. Measuring wounds properly and describing drainage will also be addressed.

  • Documentation, Documentation, DocumentationChapter 3

    Every home care clinician knows that documentation consumes a large portion of the patient home visit. Although it can be overwhelming, correctly documenting on wounds is vital, as improper or missing documentation can hold up or even lead to a denial of payment. This chapter will discuss how to document correctly and what facts specifically need to be included in wound-related documentation. A patient example with appropriate documentation will be shown.

  • Facilitating Collaborative Care With PhysiciansChapter 4

    Home care clinicians often need to update and collaborate with a physician and the physician's office to coordinate patient care. This can be difficult at times when trying to voice concerns and needs for a patient with wounds and various problems that can go along with them. This chapter will go over techniques that can facilitate this communication. A patient example with communication to the physician and related documentation will be demonstrated.

  • View full course details »

Section 3: Ostomy Care

1 Chapters

Ostomy Care: Management and Patient Education in Home Carekeyboard_arrow_down

Course
  • What Type of Ostomy Is This?Chapter 1

    This chapter will discuss the characteristics of a colostomy, ileostomy, and urostomy/ileal conduit, and what can be expected from each different type of ostomy. This is important information to have to be able to teach your home health patient about their stoma, including what to expect and when to contact the nurse or physician.

  • How to Identify and Manage Peristomal Skin ComplicationsChapter 2

    Various peristomal skin complications will be discussed, and numerous examples of these complications will be provided. Prevention and treatment options to best care for the home health patient will be discussed. This chapter will include discussions of ostomies close to incision lines or abdominal wounds.

  • How to Put a Pouch On ProperlyChapter 3

    In home care, it is very important to begin early teaching with a patient and caregiver on proper pouch technique. We will discuss how to place a pouch and different techniques for doing so. Techniques that will help a patient or caregiver pouch more easily will be discussed and demonstrated.

  • So Many Pouches, So Many AccessoriesChapter 4

    There are many ostomy pouches, accessories, and products. Convex, flat, moldable, precut, one-piece, and two-piece options will be discussed. Numerous accessories will be described and shown to you. This practical chapter will explain what a patient will need when leaving the home or traveling and things to think about regarding activities, privacy, and everyday life with an ostomy.

  • View full course details »

Section 4: Additional Resources

3 Chapters

Instructors
Carrie Adkins

RN, BSN, CWOCN

CEU Approved

7 total hours* of accredited coursework.
MedBridge accredits each course individually so you can earn CEUs as you progress.

      Our clinic could not be happier with MedBridge.

Amy Lee, MPT, OCS
Physical Therapy Central

       MedBridge has allowed us to create a culture of learning that we were previously unable to attain with traditional coursework.

Zach Steele, PT, DPT, OCS
Outpatient Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Services

    MedBridge has created a cost-effective and quality platform that is the future of online education.

Grant R. Koster, PT, ATC, FACHE
Vice President of Clinical Operations, Athletico Physical Therapy

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I get CEU credit?
Each course is individually accredited. Please check each course for your state and discipline. You can receive CEU credit after each course is completed.

When do I get my certificate?
You will receive accredited certificates of completion for each course as you complete them. Once you have completed the entire Certificate Program you will receive your certificate for the program.

*Accreditation Hours
Each course is individually accredited and exact hours will vary by state and discipline. Check each course for specific accreditation for your license.

Do I have to complete the courses in order?
It is not required that you complete the courses in order. Each Certificate Program's content is built to be completed sequentially but it is not forced to be completed this way.

How long do I have access to the Certificate Program?
You will have access to this Certificate Program for as long as you are a subscriber. Your initial subscription will last for one year from the date you purchase.

Sample Certificate

Sample Certificate

Complete this series to receive your certificate.

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Certificate Program
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