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Wound Care & Continuing Education

A wound is a break in the skin that can be caused by a variety of things, such as a knife cut, a fall or a scrape. The healing process may require some assistance. Wound care certification is part of continuing education for nurses and other health care professionals.

  1. Wounds

    • The skin is made up of three layers, the epidermis, the dermis and the subcutaneous tissue. The epidermis is the top layer of skin, the dermis lies just below the epidermis, and the subcutaneous tissue lies below the dermis, and is where the fat lies. Abrasions only break the epidermis and sometimes the dermis. A laceration will go down to or past the subcutaneous tissue. Wound care certification is usually focused on treating lacerations.

    Healing Process

    • For a few days after a wound has occurred, the skin inflames, bleeding happens and the blood vessels thin, helping to clot the blood. Chemical substances are released into the wound to sterilize it. A scab will form, and the pink skin around the scab indicates that new blood vessels and cells are being formed. After two to three weeks the density of new blood vessels lessens, lessening the appearance of pink skin and sometimes leaving a scar. Wound care certification can teach you how to make sure that this process is uninhibited by factors such as infection.

    Wound Care Certification

    • Wound care certification is available primarily for nurses and other health care professionals as part of their continuing education. However, wound care courses can be taken by non-health care employees for the sake of education. The courses end in an exam designed to test your knowledge.

    Levels of Certification

    • There are different types of wound care certification. These are Certified Wound Care Associate (CWCA), Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing Certification Board (WOCNCB) and Certified Wound Care Nurse (CWCN) which is the most general wound care association and includes a number of other, smaller certificates. These certifications indicate that the recipient has been trained in wound care.

    Considerations

    • It is important to remember that with or without wound care certification, if is important to consult your doctor if any abnormal symptoms accompany the healing of a wound, such as strange discharge from the wound, or if the wound refuses to begin healing for over a week.

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