Short course

Online course details

Price

FREE

Next course date

Open now

Duration

2 - 3 hours per week for 4 weeks

CPD hours

10 CPD hours

Delivery

Self-guided online learning

Location

Online

Online course description

This course will look at the causes, management and prevention of pressure ulcers including: identifying those individuals who are at risk, early warning signs of skin breakdown, the importance of adopting healthy lifestyle choices; including physical and mental wellbeing, and the requirement for professional intervention and support.

Who is this course for?

This course is open to anyone who wants to understand what pressure ulcers are and where and why they occur. It is suitable for people who care for those who are at risk of developing ulcers, healthcare professionals and individuals with a general interest in pressure care and prevention.

This course will:

"I am training in Health profession and most people l care for can easily develop pressure sores as their mobility is limited by their illness. l liked the way they showed me how to prevent pressure sores and the multi agencies that need to be involved to make this happen. This will make me more conscious of this in my training and profession."

Pressure Ulcer Prevention, Online Learner

Structure, certificates and assessment

Throughout the learning process you will be awarded a Digital Open Badge for completing each unit. These are internationally recognised by many employers and educational institutions and will allow you to display your study achievements, even if you only wish to complete a specific unit.

Upon finishing the course, you will be issued an E-Certificate featuring all earned badges and stating that you have completed the full course, so that you can add it to your CV or education portfolio. This massive open online course does not hold any credits and can not be used as a top-up for your University credits.

If you're interested in exploring what else University of Derby Online Learning has to offer, browse our online courses.

An accredited provider of the CPD Standards Office

We are proud to be an accredited provider of the CPD Standards Office for our online short courses and free courses, demonstrating that they conform to CPD best practice and are appropriate for inclusion in a formal CPD record.

Accredited CPD Centre Logo - The CPD Standards Office, CPD Provider 60069, 2024-2025

Course units

The course is made up of 4 units. Each unit takes approximately 2 hours to complete.

Unit content is guided by professionally recognised theory and evidence:

  • identify and retain an overview of pressure ulcers; including what they are and where they occur
  • identify the warning signs and risk associated with vulnerability to pressure ulcers
  • recognise strategies to prevent skin breakdown

After this unit delegates will be able to:

  • recognise the importance of keeping active and maintaining a healthy lifestyle
  • identify the basic principles of good posture and positioning
  • investigate an individual's own priorities and negotiating optimum function and care

At the end of this unit delegates will be able to:

  • identify how to encourage and promote healthy eating and nutrition
  • understand how to effectively manage toileting and continence issues
  • understand the importance of promoting wellbeing, including both physical and mental health interventions

At the end of this unit delegates will be able to:

  • understand the triggers for referral onto other agencies and professionals
  • identify key equipment considerations
  • understand the role of different health care professionals and support services locally

Learning outcomes

Benefits

A flexible course that fits in with working and family life

You will receive a valuable insight into the causes of pressures ulcers, the process of wound healing and degrees of tissue damage. You will be able to identify those persons and patients at risk of developing pressure ulcers and early intervention techniques to use. 

You will understand the importance of promoting a healthy lifestyle to include health eating, physical activity and mental wellbeing.

We will also consider the importance of the individual’s needs in maintaining a quality of life and when other help and support is required.

Course requirements

How to enrol

All of our free courses are delivered through an easy-to-use online learning platform, which you can enrol from directly.

What you will need

The course is free and widely available for anyone to take part in regardless of age, location or education status. You will need to agree to the terms and conditions before you start the course which will be available when you enrol.

However, there are some basic requirements. You will need access to the internet whether it is on your PC, tablet, mobile or other electronic devices, as well as a valid email address to register with our online learning environment in order to take part in the course.

Once registered, please be aware that all study for this course is online and so you will need to be able to engage with this via a personal device, preferably a computer or laptop, for the stated duration of the course.

The learning platform is compatible with screen reader technology to assist those with visual impairments.

Dr Lisa Ledger
Course author

Head of Discipline, Occupational Therapy. Areas of clinical specialism include posture management, wheelchairs and seating. PhD research focused on pressure ulcer prevention, person centred practice. Currently co-opted working with University of Leeds on a large scale NIHR funded study around pressure ulcer prevention for people with long term neurological conditions. 

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Contact us

If you want to find out more about studying a short course, please contact us and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

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