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Continuing Education
Coming Soon
CE Wound Care Pressure Injury
Course teaches registered nurses evidence‑based skin anatomy, wound healing phases, pressure injury assessment, staging, moist healing techniques, dressing selection, and advanced therapies, enabling accurate management across care settings.
Who Should Take This
Registered nurses who regularly assess and treat wounds in acute, long‑term, home health, or outpatient environments should enroll. Ideal participants have foundational wound‑care knowledge, seek to deepen expertise in pressure‑injury staging and advanced modalities, and aim to improve patient outcomes through evidence‑based practice.
What's Included in AccelaStudy® AI
Adaptive Knowledge Graph
Practice Questions
Lesson Modules
Console Simulator Labs
Exam Tips & Strategy
20 Activity Formats
Course Outline
61 learning goals
1
Skin Anatomy and Wound Healing
2 topics
Skin structure and function
- Identify the layers of the skin including epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue and describe their roles in wound protection and healing.
- Explain the four phases of wound healing including hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and maturation and their expected timelines.
- Describe factors that impair wound healing including malnutrition, diabetes, vascular insufficiency, immunosuppression, smoking, and advanced age.
- Explain the role of growth factors, cytokines, and extracellular matrix components in each phase of the wound healing cascade.
Wound classification systems
- Differentiate between acute and chronic wounds based on etiology, healing trajectory, and underlying pathophysiology.
- Classify wounds by etiology including surgical, traumatic, pressure, arterial, venous, diabetic, and moisture-associated skin damage.
- Identify wound healing types including primary intention, secondary intention, and tertiary or delayed primary closure and their clinical applications.
2
Pressure Injury Assessment and Staging
3 topics
NPUAP staging system
- Identify the NPUAP pressure injury stages including Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, unstageable, and deep tissue pressure injury.
- Describe the clinical characteristics that differentiate each pressure injury stage including tissue involvement, wound bed appearance, and depth.
- Explain the concept of unstageable pressure injuries including the role of slough and eschar in obscuring wound depth assessment.
- Describe deep tissue pressure injury characteristics including persistent non-blanchable deep red or purple discoloration and evolution patterns.
- Analyze wound photographs and clinical descriptions to accurately stage pressure injuries and distinguish them from other wound types.
Braden Scale risk assessment
- Identify the six subscales of the Braden Scale: sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction and shear.
- Explain how to score each Braden Scale subscale and interpret total scores to classify patients as mild, moderate, high, or very high risk.
- Describe alternative risk assessment tools including the Norton Scale and Waterlow Score and explain when each is most appropriately applied.
- Analyze patient assessment data using the Braden Scale to determine appropriate pressure injury prevention interventions based on risk level.
Comprehensive wound assessment
- Describe the components of a comprehensive wound assessment including location, size, depth, wound bed tissue type, exudate, odor, and periwound skin condition.
- Explain wound measurement techniques including length, width, depth, tunneling, and undermining using clock-face documentation method.
- Identify signs and symptoms of wound infection including increased pain, erythema, warmth, edema, purulent drainage, and systemic indicators.
- Describe wound tissue types found in the wound bed including granulation, epithelialization, slough, eschar, and exposed structures.
- Analyze complex wound presentations with multiple tissue types and complicating factors to develop a prioritized wound treatment plan.
3
Moist Wound Healing and Dressing Selection
2 topics
Principles of moist wound healing
- Explain the scientific principles of moist wound healing including enhanced cell migration, autolytic debridement, and reduced scar formation.
- Describe wound bed preparation principles using the TIME framework: Tissue management, Infection control, Moisture balance, and Edge advancement.
Dressing categories and selection
- Identify major wound dressing categories including transparent films, hydrocolloids, hydrogels, foams, alginates, hydrofibers, and collagen dressings.
- Explain the properties, indications, and contraindications of each wound dressing category based on wound characteristics and exudate levels.
- Describe antimicrobial wound dressings including silver-containing, honey-based, and PHMB-impregnated products and their appropriate clinical applications.
- Analyze wound assessment findings to select the optimal dressing type considering wound bed tissue, exudate volume, infection status, and patient comfort.
- Explain wound cleansing techniques including appropriate solutions, irrigation pressures, and debridement considerations before dressing application.
4
Advanced Wound Therapies
3 topics
Negative pressure wound therapy
- Explain the mechanism of action of negative pressure wound therapy including macrodeformation, microdeformation, fluid removal, and granulation promotion.
- Describe the indications and contraindications for NPWT including appropriate wound types, pressure settings, dressing changes, and alarm troubleshooting.
- Identify nursing responsibilities for NPWT management including seal integrity assessment, drainage monitoring, pain management, and patient education.
Debridement methods
- Identify types of wound debridement including autolytic, enzymatic, mechanical, biological, and sharp or surgical and describe the clinical indications for each.
- Explain the nursing role and scope of practice considerations for each debridement method including when referral to a wound specialist is required.
- Analyze wound presentations to determine the most appropriate debridement method based on wound characteristics, patient tolerance, and care setting.
Emerging wound technologies
- Describe emerging wound care technologies including growth factor therapy, skin substitutes, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and bioengineered tissue products.
- Analyze the evidence base for advanced wound therapies to determine their cost-effectiveness and appropriate patient selection criteria.
5
Pressure Injury Prevention
3 topics
Prevention bundles and strategies
- Identify the core components of pressure injury prevention bundles including repositioning schedules, support surfaces, nutrition optimization, and skin care protocols.
- Explain pressure redistribution principles and support surface categories including reactive, active, and specialty surfaces for operating rooms and wheelchairs.
- Describe repositioning techniques and schedules including turning frequency, heel elevation, microshifts, and proper body alignment for prevention.
- Explain the role of nutrition in wound prevention and healing including protein requirements, caloric needs, micronutrient supplementation, and nutritional screening tools.
- Describe moisture management strategies including incontinence-associated dermatitis prevention, barrier cream application, and skin assessment protocols.
Medical device-related pressure injuries
- Identify common medical devices associated with pressure injuries including oxygen masks, endotracheal tubes, splints, cervical collars, and sequential compression devices.
- Describe prevention strategies for medical device-related pressure injuries including proper sizing, padding, skin assessment under devices, and repositioning.
Prevention program implementation
- Analyze unit-level pressure injury prevalence and incidence data to identify trends, high-risk populations, and prevention bundle compliance gaps.
- Synthesize a comprehensive pressure injury prevention program incorporating risk assessment, evidence-based interventions, staff education, and outcome monitoring.
6
Wound Documentation and Legal Considerations
1 topic
Documentation standards
- Describe wound documentation standards including required elements, wound assessment frequency, photographic documentation guidelines, and EHR documentation tools.
- Explain the legal and regulatory significance of wound documentation including CMS reporting requirements, present-on-admission coding, and liability implications.
- Analyze wound documentation scenarios to identify deficiencies and recommend improvements that meet regulatory standards and support continuity of care.
7
Special Wound Populations
3 topics
Lower extremity wounds
- Differentiate between arterial, venous, and neuropathic lower extremity ulcers based on clinical characteristics, location, and vascular assessment findings.
- Explain compression therapy principles for venous leg ulcers including contraindications, ABI assessment, and multi-layer bandage systems.
- Describe diabetic foot ulcer assessment and management including offloading techniques, vascular evaluation, infection management, and interdisciplinary team roles.
- Analyze lower extremity wound presentations with mixed arterial and venous components to determine safe compression therapy application parameters.
Bariatric and pediatric wound care
- Identify unique wound care considerations for bariatric patients including moisture-associated skin damage in skin folds, equipment limitations, and positioning challenges.
- Describe wound assessment and management adaptations for pediatric patients including age-appropriate pain assessment and dressing selection considerations.
Palliative wound care
- Explain palliative wound care goals including symptom management, odor control, exudate management, and quality of life prioritization over wound closure.
- Analyze complex wound scenarios in patients with multiple comorbidities to determine realistic treatment goals and appropriate wound care interventions.
8
Wound Care Quality Improvement
2 topics
Quality metrics and benchmarking
- Identify wound care quality metrics including hospital-acquired pressure injury rates, healing rates, time to closure, and cost per episode of care.
- Explain wound care quality benchmarking against national databases including NDNQI, CMS Hospital Compare, and state reporting requirements.
- Analyze wound care outcomes data to identify practice improvement opportunities and evaluate the effectiveness of protocol changes.
Wound care team and consultation
- Describe the roles and responsibilities of wound care team members including wound care nurses, physicians, nutritionists, physical therapists, and case managers.
- Synthesize a facility-wide wound care education and competency program incorporating assessment skills, dressing selection, prevention strategies, and documentation standards.
Scope
Included Topics
- Skin anatomy, wound healing phases, and factors affecting wound repair including nutrition, perfusion, comorbidities, and medication effects.
- Pressure injury staging using the NPUAP classification system including Stages 1-4, unstageable, deep tissue pressure injury, and mucosal membrane pressure injury.
- Braden Scale risk assessment including subscale scoring, interpretation, and risk-stratified prevention interventions.
- Comprehensive wound assessment techniques including measurement, tissue type identification, exudate characterization, and periwound skin evaluation.
- Moist wound healing principles, wound bed preparation using the TIME framework, and evidence-based dressing selection for various wound types.
- Negative pressure wound therapy mechanisms, indications, contraindications, and nursing management responsibilities.
- Debridement methods including autolytic, enzymatic, mechanical, biological, and sharp with nursing scope of practice considerations.
- Pressure injury prevention bundles including repositioning, support surfaces, nutrition optimization, skin care, and medical device-related injury prevention.
- Wound documentation standards, photographic documentation, CMS reporting requirements, and legal implications of wound care records.
- Lower extremity wound differentiation and management including venous, arterial, and diabetic foot ulcers with compression therapy principles.
Not Covered
- Surgical wound closure techniques, skin grafting procedures, or operative wound management beyond postoperative nursing assessment.
- Advanced wound microbiology or molecular biology of wound healing beyond clinical practitioner understanding.
- Burn wound classification and management which constitutes a separate specialty domain.
- Ostomy care and management which is addressed in a separate continuing education domain.
- Plastic and reconstructive surgery techniques or aesthetic wound management approaches.
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