SWA® (SKIN AND WOUND CARE ASSOCIATE) COURSE

 

INTRODUCTION TO SWA®

The WEB WOC^® SWA (Skin and Wound Care Associate) Course premiered in January 2018 to address the educational needs of the non-specialty caregiver who is interested in expanding knowledge of skin and wound care prevention and treatment.  WEB WOC^®  Programs, as the developer of this Course, has international recognition as the Premier Online Wound, Ostomy, Continence (WOC) Nursing education provider.  With 17 years of teaching ONLINE as a WOC Nursing Education Program accredited by the Wound, Ostomy Continence Nursing Society, it has earned a reputation for engaging, rigorous and evidence-based educational experiences.  Additionally, WEB WOC^®  is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (ANCC). Each of the seven (7) WEB WOC^®  faculty is master’s prepared with a minimum of 20 years of clinical experience in WOC Nursing practice and at least 17 years teaching Wound, Ostomy, Continence Care ONLINE. 

In this non-specialty SWA course, the faculty has joined forces to offer the learner a rich, yet practical, learning experience free from commercial bias and with experienced guidance for knowledge implementation.  Within this new course offering, WEB WOC^® has once again demonstrated its mission to provide access for caregivers to evidence-based, academically designed educational materials that promote:  optimal patient care, improve health care outcomes and support an overall culture of safety through empowered and knowledgeable skin and wound caregivers and teams.

course overview

The SWA® course is a 24-CE curriculum that may be offered over a few weeks or several months within a health care setting to educate skin and wound care providers at a non-specialty level.  This course focuses on building and sustaining a culture of safety in skin and wound care for individual patients, caregivers and the health care system. Content includes the prevention and treatment of skin and wound care issues.  Evidence-based practice guides focused assessments and management approaches. Emphasis is placed on understanding physiology of the skin and how healing occurs followed by an extensive review of types of skin injuries, their prevention and treatment. Skin injuries studied in this course include: skin tears, moisture associated skin damage, mechanical skin injuries, surgical site wound infections, pressure injuries and wounds of the lower extremity.  Efficient utilization of resources that lead to optimal care for the patient and risk reduction with cost containment for the health care system represents the themes of this educational experience.   

Intended audience:  The non-specialist nurse caregiver (LPN/LVNs, RNs, Advanced Practice) and non-nursing professionals (e.g. PTs, OTs, PAs, Medics) practicing under the direction of the WOC nurse, or other wound specialists including an APRN, or Physician. This course may be taken by teams of health care providers as a team building experience.  Course materials will be delivered ONLINE with content taught by WEB WOC^® faculty.

CERTIFICATION: This course has been designed to contribute to or fulfill the educational requirements for certifications in skin and wound care. It is the responsibility of the participant to determine if the course content applies to their practice and to submit completion documents to the desired certification board.

TUITION:  The tuition for this course is based upon the customized features required by the health care system or group purchaser.  It is competitively based at approximately $450 per participant.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Following completion of the SWA^® course, the participant will be able to:

1.     Distinguish the scope, role and limitations of wound care providers in their individual states.

•       Identify legal issues and of skin and wound management as well as interventions to protect against litigation

2.     Identify the rationale for a system-based skin care program.

•       Identify evidence-based guidelines for skin integrity maintenance.

•       Describe risk assessment in patient care.

•       Discuss prevention guidelines for skin integrity maintenance: when, where and how.

•       Compare and contrast routine skin care across the lifespan including the neonate to geriatric populations.

3.     Describe the two types of wound repair.

•       Identify the 3 phases of wound healing.

•       Identify factors that help or hinder wound repair.

4.     Describe common causes for skin injury including friction, shear, pressure, moisture, chemicals used in care, adhesives and medical devices.

5.     Identify the role of comprehensive assessment in wound care.

6.     Identify different wound parameters while incorporating accurate terminology.

7.     Describe guidelines for prevention and management of TOP DOWN skin injuries.

8.     Discuss regulatory and legal implications of facility acquired pressure injury.

9.     Define pressure injury, causes, contributing factors, and common locations.

•       Differentiate between the pressure injury stages.

•       Define prevalence and incidence.

•       Describe key principles required of a pressure injury treatment plan (besides topical wound care).

10.  Identify 3 goals for wound care

11.  Discuss the 3 principles of wound management

12.  Describe steps for wound bed preparation

•       Describe methods of infection management including referral

•       Differentiate between wound colonization versus infection.

13.  Identify practice guidelines in wound dressing selection.

•       Describe benefits and disadvantages in dressing choices.

14.  Review normal lower extremity vascular anatomy and physiology.

15.  Describe physical assessment of lower extremities.

16.  Identify pathological processes of the arterial, venous, and lymph system.

17.  Identify characteristics, clinical presentation, and test results related to LEAD, LEVD, LEND and (LE) mixed etiology ulcers.

18.  Utilize an evidence-based practice guideline to develop a management plan for LEAD, LEND, LEVD and (LE) mixed etiology ulcers for patient care that includes skin and wound care, lifestyle affecting the condition and patient education. 

19.  Discuss three types and causes of neuropathy.

20.  Discuss the definition, characteristics, risk factors and a management plan for refractory/difficult to heal wounds.

21.  Discuss adjunctive treatment modalities, their indications, mechanisms of action, benefits and contraindications.

22.  Explain the pathophysiology of burns and develop a management plan that addresses the care of first and superficial second-degree burns.

23.  Describe a culture of safety in skin and wound care including its benefits to a health care system.

CLINICAL COMPETENCIES

At the completion of the course, the learner will be able describe the rationale for and demonstrate the following procedures:

1.     Wound Assessment and documentation, wound status monitoring

2.     Prevention: Incontinence Associated Dermatitis (IAD), skin tears, pressure injury

3.     Compression 2-layer, Compression 4-layer or Compression Unna’s boot

4.     Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) application and removal

5.     Selection and application of wound care products

6.     Foot inspection and assessment

7.     Lower Extremity

a.     Monofilament testing,

b.    Taking pulses,

c.     Ankle Brachial Index (ABI) measurement and interpretation

 

 

COURSE LEARNING ACTIVITIES

 

The course learning strategies include: audio-video presentations, quizzes, case studies, workshop style presentations, videos of skills, clinical conferences with a WEB WOC^® faculty member, skill demonstrations onsite and a final exam.  Most of the competencies have demonstration videos which were developed by WEB WOC^® specifically for this course.

 

 

COURSE TOPIC OUTLINE

1.     Welcome and Introduction to the Course

2.     SWA^© Scope and Role: Legal, Ethical and Reimbursement Issues

3.     System-Wide Skin Integrity Program

4.     Patient Engagement/Education

5.     Anatomy and Physiology of the Skin and Routine Skin Care

6.     Skin and Wound Healing

a.     Factors Affecting Healing

7.     Wound Assessment and Documentation

8.     TOP DOWN Skin Injuries: types, description and management

9.     BOTTOM UP Skin Injuries: Pressure Injuries

10.  Guidelines in Wound Care, Dressing Selection and Practice Lab

11.  Lower Extremity Assessment, LE Arterial Disease (LEAD), LE Venous Disease (LEVD), LE Neuropathic Disease (LEND), Mixed Etiology LE Wounds

12.  Difficult to Heal Wounds and Adjunctive Therapies

13.  Burns

COURSE COMPLETION CRITERIA

Course learning activities are requirements that need to be completed to enhance knowledge in the skin and wound care field.

1.    Successful completion of all course learning activities.

2.    Successful completion of quizzes with scores of 80% or above.  

3.    Participation in clinical conferences.

4.    Successful return demonstration of required competencies.

5.    Successful passing of the Final Exam with a score of 80% or above.

6.     Completion of the course evaluation.

 

CONTINUING EDUCATION

This program is designed to meet continuing education requirements for health care professionals.

·         Licensed nurses upon successful completion of this course, will be awarded 24 Contact Hours by WEB WOC Programs which is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

·         Non-nursing participants will receive a certificate of course completion upon successful completion of this course. It is the responsibility of non-nursing participants to determine if the Contact Hour credit applies to their practice and submit required materials to their licensing board for Contact Hour credit.

Contact Hours will be awarded through 9-25-2025. No contact hours will be awarded to participants who submit evaluation forms and post-tests after this date.

COPYRIGHT

All materials provided by the WEB WOC^® Programs are protected by copyright laws, and may not be reproduced, republished, distributed, transmitted, displayed, broadcast or otherwise exploited in any manner without the express prior written permission of WEB WOC^®. All material (including audio or video recordings) for this course is restricted to members of this course and may not be redistributed without express permission from WEB WOC^®.

 

WEB WOC^®’s names and logos and all related trademarks, tradenames, and other intellectual property are the property of WEB WOC^® and cannot be used without its express prior written permission.