Wound Closure: Advanced Practice

The Wound Closure - Advance Practice Course enables healthcare professionals to further develop their knowledge and skills in suturing techniques, advanced wound flap management and closure, skin assessment utilizing dermoscopy, histopathology collection, safe handling and administering of local anaesthetic, advanced wound support and scar management in primary healthcare and community-based settings.

Course content for Wound Closure: Advanced Practice includes:

• Advanced skin physiology
• Sharps handling and safety
• Guidelines for administration of local anaesthetics including:
  • Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
  • Local anaesthetic pharmacology
  • Local anaesthetic agents and Sodium Bicarbonate
  • Pain assessment & Pain management
  • Practice standards
  • Local anaesthetic administration techniques
  • Local anaesthetic toxicity guidelines
  • Local anaesthetic administration scope of practice for nurses
  • Professional Indemnity
  • Practical administration workshop
• Skin assessment: identifying skin lesions utilizing dermoscopy
• Histopathology collection:
  • Shave Biopsy- Indications, method, and application practical technique
  • Punch Biopsy- Indications, method, and application practical technique
• Perform advanced wound closure:
  • Multiple layer closure
  • Elliptical Excision
  • Z-Plasty Closure
  • Advancement Flap Closure
• Advanced Wound Support:
  • Infection management guidelines and recommendations
  • Operative and post-operative wound dressings- Practical demonstration and application
  • Scar minimisation application and methods- Practical demonstration
  • Immobilisation and wound support- Practical demonstration and application
  • Billing and MBS item numbers

At the successful completion of the Wound Closure: Advanced Practice students will have advanced knowledge and skills to determine the best wound closure technique to achieve durability and simplicity.

Students will learn the ability to close wounds using a variety of advanced methods and materials including multiple layer closure, elliptical excision and z-plasty Closure.

• Full day face-to-face workshop
• In-class activities assessed by a qualified assessor

• Registered Nurses
• Enrolled Nurses
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners
• General Practitioners
• Others on application.

5 hours of in-class activities

As a general guide, one (1) hour of active learning equates to one (1) hour of CPD. It is the responsibility of the individual student to calculate how many hours of active learning have been completed. The hours of active learning estimated above should act as a guide to CPD hours.

Learners have the option of completing Course in Wound Closure (10762NAT) Fundamentals Day 1

Further development of wound closure knowledge and skills increases capability of wound clinical management across a range of primary healthcare settings including general practice, community-based care, dermatological, and educational. Understand guidelines for administration of local anaesthetics, infection management, post-operative care, MBS billing item numbers, professional indemnity considerations, all covered in this Advanced Practice Program.

This course includes both online theory and a one-day face-to-face workshop where students will practice skills including Local anaesthetic administration, Introduction into Dermoscopy, Skin biopsy and histopathology collection, Deep tissue wound closure, Elliptical excision, Elliptical excision Z-Pasty and Advancement flap closure.

Students enrolled in The Benchmarque Group courses should adhere to the following principles:

• Display a commitment to learning and to achieving success
• Be responsible and accountable for their own learning, behaviour, and decisions
• Actively participate in all workshop activities and learning experiences
• Attend all scheduled sessions and be always punctual
• Complete all online assessments and workplace practice activities (as required)
• Work in harmony and respect the rights and opinions of staff and other students
• Treat others as they themselves would like to be treated
• Always use acceptable language

To ensure you have the foundational skills of wound closure prior to developing advanced skills, it is recommended you complete the Course in Wound Closure, however this is not mandatory. Students are able to complete either one of the workshops, or both.

The Course in Wound Closure is an accredited introductory wound closure course covering knot tying, and introductory wound closure techniques such as staples, steri-strips, glue, and single interrupted suture. Wound Closure: Advanced Practice is a non-accredited workshop where you will develop advanced skills in local anaesthetic administration and histopathology collection, specifically shave and punch biopsy and advanced flap repair and closure.

Yes, suturing and wound closure can be added to your scope of practice as long as certain conditions are met. You must be qualified and you must be authorised (a policy or procedure stating the conditions that need to be met for you to perform wound closure in each workplace that you are employed in, as these conditions may differ from city to rural or remote location with regard to autonomy). If these criteria are met, then you can safely perform wound closure.

Continuing professional development is the means by which members of the clinical profession maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge, expertise and competence, and develop the personal and professional qualities required throughout their professional lives.

The CPD cycle involves reviewing practice, identifying learning needs, planning and participating in relevant learning activities, and reflecting on the value of those activities.

As a general guide, one hour of active learning equates to one hour of CPD. It is the responsibility of the individual student to calculate how many hours of active learning have been completed. The hours of active learning estimated above should act as a guide to CPD hours.

For all other health professionals completing this program, your continuing professional development (CPD) requirements may vary and it is important to remember that it is your responsibility to maintain and register CPD with your professional body. In many instances, your regulatory authority will recognise hours of learning as stated above.

At the completion of the program, successful students will receive a certificate of attendance for Wound Closure: Advanced Practice.

To move your workshop date, you will be required to pay a non-refundable fee. Please choose your workshop carefully as it is a requirement that your pre-requisite learning is completed and assessed before you can attend your scheduled workshop. If you do not complete your pre-requisite learning in time for the workshop, you may be required to pay further fee(s) to reschedule.