How to Teach Wound Care to Home Health Aides

A wound is defined as a break in the skin. Typically, wounds are caused by cuts or scrapes, and less common causes include ulcers, sores and burns. Treatment depends highly on the type of wound and its cause. Teaching wound care to home health aides requires a strong understanding of first aid and wound care techniques. With a strong lesson plan and thorough knowledge of the subject matter, you will be able to teach wound care successfully to any home health aide student.

Things You'll Need

• Mannequin (optional)

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Instructions

• 1

  Explain the definition of a wound, and show your students visual examples of different types of wounds (pictures are readily available online or ask your doctor for wound care pamphlets).

• 2

  Give several examples of how to clean and dress wounds by running a variety of scenarios that challenge students with a variety of wounds ranging in seriousness (these scenarios can be done with the help of volunteer students or on a mannequin). Make these scenarios as believable as possible by using fake blood and makeup for an authentic feel and a sense of urgency.

• 3

  Explain how to identify stages and types of infection by showing images of each stage and type of infection. Question your students about how infections spread, and ask them to identify symptoms of widespread infections.

• 4

  Provide handouts outlining information about types of wounds, treatment procedures and identifying infections. Go over the information in these handouts with your students, and invite questions about the subject matter.

• 5

  Test your students' knowledge by having them treat fake wounds on each other or a mannequin. Create a written test to give your students an opportunity to demonstrate their grasp of the relevant theoretical knowledge.