Prescribers Advanced Wound Management Certification Course
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Led by a team of highly experienced, certified experts in wound care, this course covers a wide spectrum of topics essential for managing complex wounds effectively. Participants will explore in-depth concepts including wound assessment, etiology, classification, and evidence-based treatment modalities.
Through engaging lectures, case studies, and quick assessments, the student will gain proficiency in various wound care techniques such as wound debridement, dressing selection, offloading strategies, and advanced wound closure methods. In addition, participants will learn about integrating adjunctive therapies like negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), and bioengineered skin substitutes into wound management protocols.
This course emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to wound care, acknowledging the collaborative efforts required among healthcare professionals including physicians, nurses, physical therapists, and wound care specialists. Participants will develop the skills necessary to lead interdisciplinary wound care teams, optimize patient outcomes, and mitigate complications associated with chronic wounds.
Key Highlights:
• Comprehensive coverage of wound assessment, classification, and treatment
• Exploration of advanced wound healing modalities and technologies
• Integration of evidence-based practices into clinical decision-making
• Emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and team-based care
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Outline: Skin Integrity Challenges: MASD and MARSI
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Open to download resource.
Video: Skin Integrity Challenges: MASD and MARSI
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Open to view video.
The skin serves as a barrier to protect the body from damage caused by external factors and also has further significant functions that help to maintain homeostasis.
Loss of skin integrity is common with severe or long-term morbidity due to physiological changes, together with the associated reduced mobility and activity. In this patient population, the challenge is to prevent loss of skin integrity due to excessive moisture and medical-adhesives.
This requires a comprehensive skin assessment and effective management of any identified risk factors. When skin breakdown does occur, early diagnosis and effective evidence-based interventions are essential to prevent potentially severe complications.
Video: Nutrition and Wound Healing
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Open to view video.
Nutrition plays a vital role in preventing and healing wounds. For chronic wounds it is essential to provide required nutrients - such as protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals to support the body’s additional nutritional needs.
An important part of wound management is to identify patients who are at risk for malnutrition, undernourished or overnourished and with indications of a deficiency in essential nutrients. If malnutrition is suspected, specific blood tests may reveal patient’s nutritional health is a factor contributing to patient’s weight and impaired wound healing.
Video: Acute Wounds
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An acute wound is any sudden breach in the skin and/or deeper structures as a result of minor to major surgery; trauma and burns - from day-to-day to severe and life-threatening incidents.
When the skin or underlying structures are damaged the body naturally reacts to heal the wound. (Surgical Wounds is a presentation on its own and not discussed in this presentation). However, complications can set in – healing stalls and the wound becomes chronic.
This presentation will review the four phases of normal wound healing, factors that might affect wound healing, and interventions provided by provider to support the healing of acute wounds and prevent complications.
Outline: Wound Assessment: Key to Wound Prognosis (Part 1)
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Open to download resource.
Video: Wound Assessment: Key to Wound Prognosis (Part 1)
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Open to view video.
A comprehensive wound assessment is essential in determining the etiology and the status of the wound and surrounding tissue. The findings are used to develop an individualized wound care plan and to track wound progression.
Numerous components are included in a wound assessment. Wound location, classification, and etiology, as well as assessment of the wound bed and the wound edge are discussed in part 1. Part 2 covers wound measurements and the assessment of further wound parameters.
Outline: Wound Assessment: Key to Wound Prognosis (Part 2)
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Open to download resource.
Video: Wound Assessment: Key to Wound Prognosis (Part 2)
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Open to view video.
Accurate and reliable wound measurements are an important part of initial and ongoing wound assessment to monitor healing and for documentation. Linear measurement is the most commonly used but through advanced technology increasingly sophisticated digital measurement applications are becoming available.
While evaluation of the wound bed and edge are the cornerstone of wound assessment, a number of other parameters are also important in determining the etiology and status of the wound. These are exudate, odor, presence of infection, wound pain and periwound skin.
Video: Diabetic Foot Disease
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Open to view video.
Diabetes Mellitus is a serious systemic disease with an increasing incidence worldwide. Lower extremity manifestations are frequently associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Caring for patients with Diabetes-related foot disease is complicated by many comorbidities including vascular disease, neuroarthropathy, and peripheral neuropathy that cross the boundaries of usual medical or surgical care. A multidisciplinary team approach to the prevention and management of Diabetic-related foot disease requires current knowledge of its epidemiology, pathophysiology, and risk assessment, stratification and surveillance, and prevention.
Outline: Neuropathic Disease of the Lower Extremities
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Open to download resource.
Outline: Lymphatic System-related Disorders and Diseases
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Video: Lymphatic System-related Disorders and Diseases
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Open to view video.
This presentation will review the lymphatic system, various lymphatic-related disorders and conditions that are susceptible to lymphedema and specific types of therapy management available by lymphedema specialists.
Lymphedema is often referred to as the ‘third vascular system’. Lymphedema and related disorders are chronic diseases requiring life-long commitment with specific interventions to control progression and prevent complications.
There is no cure, and they are life-changing due to the severity of skin, tissue and structural changes that can negatively impact quality of life due to need for continual, specialized therapy and care.
Outline: Pressure Injuries: A Comprehensive Overview
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Open to download resource.
Video: Pressure Injuries: A Comprehensive Overview
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Open to view video.
Pressure injuries are an on-going challenge in health care. Numerous risk factors contribute to the development of pressure injuries and various tools are available to determine a patient’s risk for developing a pressure injury.
The NPIAP pressure injury classification system assists in diagnosis, and assessing the amount of tissue and structural damage, thereby guiding pressure injury management.
Tissue load management with an appropriate support surface contributes to pressure injury prevention and management
Outline: Atypical Wounds
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Chronic wounds, depending on etiology, should heal 40-50% in the first 4 weeks of treatment as this is a positive predictor for healing after 12 weeks of treatment. When these benchmarks are not achieved, in-depth investigation is warranted.
Since 20% of all chronic wounds may be from an atypical causative factor, wound care providers also need to be investigators and advanced diagnosticians for a plethora of atypical causative factors.
This presentation will review categories of atypical wounds and detail a few atypical wounds, diagnostics, medications, and treatments in general for the category of atypical wounds. This is by no means a complete list of atypical wounds, yet it is a good overview of differential diagnosis and uncommon findings in non-healing wounds.
Video: Atypical Wounds
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Open to view video.
Chronic wounds, depending on etiology, should heal 40-50% in the first 4 weeks of treatment as this is a positive predictor for healing after 12 weeks of treatment. When these benchmarks are not achieved, in-depth investigation is warranted.
Since 20% of all chronic wounds may be from an atypical causative factor, wound care providers also need to be investigators and advanced diagnosticians for a plethora of atypical causative factors.
This presentation will review categories of atypical wounds and detail a few atypical wounds, diagnostics, medications, and treatments in general for the category of atypical wounds. This is by no means a complete list of atypical wounds, yet it is a good overview of differential diagnosis and uncommon findings in non-healing wounds.
Outline: Surgical Wounds: Wound Classification and Management
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Open to download resource.
This presentation focuses on surgical wounds. Surgical wounds can be acute or chronic wounds depending on the phase of healing, complications, and type of closure. With the goal of surgical wounds being closure, there will be focus on the reconstruction ladder. Furthermore, there are many systems to classify surgical wounds. These range from skin thickness and infection risk, to again, type of closure.
Prevention of surgical complications, especially Surgical Site Infection (SSI), is at the top of healthcare providers and payers' minds as SSI is expensive with a high human cost and financial price. SSI diagnosis and prevention strategies will be reviewed.
Video: Surgical Wounds: Wound Classification and Management
Open to view video.
Open to view video.
This presentation focuses on surgical wounds. Surgical wounds can be acute or chronic wounds depending on the phase of healing, complications, and type of closure. With the goal of surgical wounds being closure, there will be focus on the reconstruction ladder. Furthermore, there are many systems to classify surgical wounds. These range from skin thickness and infection risk, to again, type of closure.
Prevention of surgical complications, especially Surgical Site Infection (SSI), is at the top of healthcare providers and payers' minds as SSI is expensive with a high human cost and financial price. SSI diagnosis and prevention strategies will be reviewed.
Outline: Wound Infection and Biofilm Challenges (Part 1)
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Open to download resource.
Video: Wound Infection and Biofilm Challenges (Part 1)
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Open to view video.
When an acute wound does not progress normally through the five phases of healing it becomes a chronic, hard-to-heal wound. The provider is then faced with a number of challenges, one of which might be wound infection. All wounds are contaminated with microbes and are at risk of developing an infection.
Wound infections cause stalled healing locally and could progress to a life-threatening systemic infection. In hard-to-heal wounds, early diagnosis of infection and biofilm, and the identification of pathogenic organisms are key to appropriate treatment choices to prevent further complications.
Outline: Wound Infection and Biofilm Challenges (Part 2)
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Open to download resource.
The challenge of managing wound infections is in choosing the right products to target the specific microbes present in the wound. In the majority of hard-to-heal wounds this includes interventions to destroy biofilm.
Antimicrobial resistance is currently a global public health threat and managing local wound infections with antibiotics is no longer recommended. A wide range of topical broad-spectrum antiseptics and antimicrobials are available to reduce the bioburden in wounds without the risk of increasing antimicrobial resistance.
Furthermore, it is essential to identify the microorganisms causing spreading or systemic infections in order to select the appropriate antibiotics.
Video: Wound Infection and Biofilm Challenges (Part 2)
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Open to view video.
The challenge of managing wound infections is in choosing the right products to target the specific microbes present in the wound. In the majority of hard-to-heal wounds this includes interventions to destroy biofilm.
Antimicrobial resistance is currently a global public health threat and managing local wound infections with antibiotics is no longer recommended. A wide range of topical broad-spectrum antiseptics and antimicrobials are available to reduce the bioburden in wounds without the risk of increasing antimicrobial resistance.
Furthermore, it is essential to identify the microorganisms causing spreading or systemic infections in order to select the appropriate antibiotics.
Outline: TIMERS Approach to Wound Bed Preparation
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When an acute wound fails to progress through the four predictable phases of wound healing in an efficient and timely manner, the wound becomes a chronic, hard-to-heal wound.
A variety of clinical, non-clinical and service delivery risk factors can contribute to non-healing wounds. However, even when these factors are addressed with best standards of care, hard-to-heal wounds are usually also characterized by various local barriers to healing. This demands intervention beyond the usual wound management focus on the wound environment and reducing the risk of infection.
The TIMERS framework discussed in this presentation can be used to guide the best standards of care interventions to restart the healing process.
Video: TIMERS Approach to Wound Bed Preparation
Open to view video.
Open to view video.
When an acute wound fails to progress through the four predictable phases of wound healing in an efficient and timely manner, the wound becomes a chronic, hard-to-heal wound.
A variety of clinical, non-clinical and service delivery risk factors can contribute to non-healing wounds. However, even when these factors are addressed with best standards of care, hard-to-heal wounds are usually also characterized by various local barriers to healing. This demands intervention beyond the usual wound management focus on the wound environment and reducing the risk of infection.
The TIMERS framework discussed in this presentation can be used to guide the best standards of care interventions to restart the healing process.
Video: Navigating Wound Dressing Selection
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Open to view video.
With the explosion of new technologies in wound care the wound care provider can have a tendency to overlook the importance of wound dressings. This includes how dressing function contributes to healing. Ever since George Winter discovered the importance of moist wound healing in the early 1960’s, thousands of wound dressings have entered the market. This abundance makes dressing selection confusing for wound care providers.
This presentation will review mechanisms of action, or functional abilities, of wound dressings and wound assessments necessary to match dressing function. Furthermore, we will review the use of wound dressings with new wound dressing technologies. Detriments to improper dressing selection and the importance of following manufacturer guidelines will be discussed. Finally, building a formulary with the greatest versatility will be reviewed.
Outline: Comprehensive Wound Pain Management
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Open to download resource.
Most patients with chronic wounds experience pain. Unmanaged pain not only affects the patient’s quality of life but may also cause hyperalgesia and delay wound healing.
The brain’s interpretation of pain signals from the peripheral nerves is influenced by physiological, psychological, and social factors. Therefore, pain is a unique experience for each patient, requiring a comprehensive assessment and individualized pain management.
A step-wise approach should be used for pharmacological pain management until pain relief is achieved with the least potentially harmful analgesics. Furthermore, non-pharmacological adjunctive therapies and psychological interventions should be considered.
Video: Comprehensive Wound Pain Management
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Open to view video.
Most patients with chronic wounds experience pain. Unmanaged pain not only affects the patient’s quality of life but may also cause hyperalgesia and delay wound healing.
The brain’s interpretation of pain signals from the peripheral nerves is influenced by physiological, psychological, and social factors. Therefore, pain is a unique experience for each patient, requiring a comprehensive assessment and individualized pain management.
A step-wise approach should be used for pharmacological pain management until pain relief is achieved with the least potentially harmful analgesics. Furthermore, non-pharmacological adjunctive therapies and psychological interventions should be considered.
Outline: Wound Closure: Skin and Tissue Substitutes
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Open to download resource.
Video: Wound Closure: Skin and Tissue Substitutes
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Open to view video.
Clinical goals for wounds are to achieve wound closure as quickly and safely as possible with full functionality, cosmesis, and with minimal scarring in the most cost-effective fashion possible. Ideally, every wound would be able to be sewn up with primary intention. This is not possible with chronic wounds or wounds and burns of significant size and severity.
This presentation will review surgical closure options, dermal replacement therapy, cellular-based products, acellular-based skin substitutes, and collagen. The presentation will also review how skin substitutes are classified by the origins from which they were derived and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
In the end you will have a better understanding of surgical closure, grafting options, extracellular matrix, and have references to utilize to bring back to your clinical practice.
Video: Adjunctive Modalities
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In this session we will be discussing “Adjunctive Modalities”. The term adjunctive means a treatment or management strategy that is added to be basics of wound management. It could be argued that Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) has become the standard of care for certain types of wounds, yet it is still advance management that is used during certain phases of wound healing; when the wound is debrided with <30% slough and to finish epithelialization.
Other adjunctive therapies occur in a “Session” with a skilled provider that are additional treatments to aid in the progression towards healing. These are pulsed lavage with suction (PLWS), hydrotherapy (Whirlpool), electrical stimulation (E-Stim), ultrasound, and hyperbaric wound therapy (HBOT).