Wound_Care_Checklist
A practical nursing skills program covering wound assessment and simple dressing change procedures, including identification, measurement, infection monitoring, and proper technique.
Kimberly Overton
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Program Features
- Online
- Interactive LMS Content
- Blockchain-based Certificate
Program Features
- Online
- Interactive LMS Content
- Blockchain-based Certificate
Description
This program provides nursing students and healthcare professionals with structured, step-by-step guidance on two essential clinical skills: wound assessment and simple dressing changes. Drawn from Nursing Skills 2e by Open Resources for Nursing (Open RN), the content is designed to support safe, evidence-based patient care in a variety of clinical settings.
Learners will develop competency in identifying wound types, measuring wound dimensions, evaluating tissue health, and recognizing signs of infection. The program emphasizes systematic assessment using standardized tools and terminology, including anatomical positioning, clock-face documentation for tunneling, and the PQRSTU pain framework.
The dressing change component teaches proper supply selection, hand hygiene protocols, sterile and non-sterile technique, removal of old dressings, wound cleansing, and application of new dressings. Learners are guided through each step with attention to patient dignity, comfort, and safety.
This program is ideal for nursing students, licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, and allied health professionals seeking to reinforce or update their wound care competencies. It is also suitable for clinical educators developing skills lab curricula.
Upon completion, learners will be able to accurately assess and document wound characteristics, perform simple dressing changes following agency policy, identify infection indicators, and communicate clinical findings appropriately to the care team.
Program Syllabus
Module 1: Preparation and Patient Safety
This module covers the essential preparatory steps before any wound-related procedure, including hand hygiene, transmission-based precautions, patient identification using two identifiers, and ensuring patient privacy and dignity. Learners also review the ABC assessment framework as a foundational safety check.
Module 2: Wound Identification and Classification
Learners explore how to identify wound location using accurate anatomical terminology and classify wound types such as surgical incisions, pressure injuries, venous ulcers, arterial ulcers, diabetic ulcers, and traumatic wounds. The module also introduces pressure injury staging and use of the Braden Scale for risk assessment.
Module 3: Wound Measurement and Documentation
This module focuses on measuring wound length, width, and depth in centimeters and documenting tunneling or undermining using clock-face terminology. Learners practice precise measurement techniques and learn documentation standards required for accurate clinical records.
Module 4: Wound Bed and Periwound Assessment
Students learn to assess the wound bed for granulation tissue, slough, and eschar, and evaluate wound edges and surrounding skin for redness, warmth, induration, maceration, or breakdown. Drainage characteristics—including amount, color, consistency, and odor—are also assessed in this module.
Module 5: Pain and Infection Assessment
This module introduces the PQRSTU framework for comprehensive wound pain assessment and discusses the importance of premedicating patients before painful dressing changes. Learners also identify systemic and local signs of wound infection, including fever, purulent drainage, and periwound inflammation.
Module 6: Dressing Change Supplies and Setup
Learners review how to select and gather appropriate dressing change supplies, including wound cleansing solution, sterile gauze, gloves, scissors, and tape. Emphasis is placed on choosing the smallest appropriate dressing and maintaining a sterile field throughout preparation.
Module 7: Performing the Simple Dressing Change
This module guides learners through the complete dressing change procedure: exposing the wound, removing old dressings using proper technique to prevent contamination, cleansing the wound, and applying a new dressing. Proper glove changes and disposal methods are also covered.
Module 8: Closing the Encounter and Documentation
Students learn how to properly conclude a wound care encounter by repositioning the patient, addressing questions, performing final hand hygiene, and documenting assessment findings. The module also covers when and how to report concerns according to agency policy.
Kimberly Overton
Kimberly Overton is a Registered Nurse in Hendersonville, TN with a background in Critical Care. In July of 2021 she founded Nurse Freedom Network to stand against the medical tyranny we are now facing. She is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and has worked in the healthcare industry for over 25 years, serving in both clinical and administrative roles.
Kimberly has a true passion for providing patient-centered care that focuses on empowering individuals through information and education. She has been a strong advocate for autonomy and informed consent throughout her career.
Beyond the advocacy, her larger vision for Nurse Freedom Network has always been creating opportunities for nurses to break away from this broken and oppressive "sickcare" system, and empower them to cultivate their own environment; one in which both nurses and patients alike will THRIVE.
In 2022, she founded Remnant Nursing Services, a PMA specializing in the consultation & care of the vaccine injured.