In the United States, roughly 1 in 5 patients is readmitted within 30 days of discharge, with wound complications the most common cause. And for patients who are immunocompromised, elderly or both, the risks during hospitalization are even greater.

A significant challenge is the lack of comprehensive wound care education in ambulatory and outpatient clinic curricula. With that in mind, Colorado-based UCHealth recently took aim at a common issue in its ambulatory care: a gap in consistent, formal continued education for clinical staff on wound care. In response to requests from nurses for additional training, UCHealth’s clinical nurse education team reached out to Medline seeking to develop and implement comprehensive training programs, allowing UCHealth staff to stay focused on patient care while advancing their knowledge in wound care best practices.

“Educating healthcare providers on wound care is essential in outpatient settings,” said Amanda Stephens, clinical educator at UCHealth. “When we don’t adhere to best practices, patients may not receive the care they need, which can delay healing and increase their risk of readmission, posing increased risk to high-risk patients. With the high volume of patients seen in clinics each day, and given frequent staff turnover, continuous education remains a critical need.”

Adding to the challenge, healthcare facilities frequently face staffing shortages. According to the Colorado Workforce Development Council, the state needs more than 7,000 nurses, and that shortage is expected to grow to more than 10,000 registered nurses by 2026, leaving little time for essential education and training. Furthermore, when nurses start new positions, they must also familiarize themselves with different products and tools, adding another layer of complexity to their onboarding process.

“We came to Medline with our challenges and a vision of an in-person education and training session and were pleasantly surprised at the in-depth education experience they put together,” said Christina Pagan, ambulatory clinical nurse educator for UCHealth. “I was blown away by the amount of time and detail that was put into creating this education. This was not even a capability I knew vendors had.”

Interactive education that makes a game of it

In August, UCHealth hosted Medline’s clinical support team at its campus to help educate 75 nurses. The enhanced, tailored program included “gamification,” a fresh, interactive approach to training that’s designed to bridge the knowledge gap by reinforcing essential wound care principles while ensuring staff are well-versed in the latest products, skills and techniques that can significantly improve healing outcomes.

Highlights of the two-day workshop included:

• Wound basics: This session helped clinicians identify wounds as post-surgical wounds, lower-extremity wounds, fungating wounds or skin tears to empower them to troubleshoot common issues such as peristomal skin breakdown, wounds that fail to heal and managing periwound skin complications. Clinicians explored the differences in wound healing, focusing on partial-thickness wounds, which affect only the outer layers of skin, versus full-thickness wounds that penetrate deeper tissues.
• Getting up close with products: Medline’s clinicians then focused on wound care products through an interactive review and a hands-on workshop, discussing various wound-care product categories and highlighting product features and benefits to help clinicians make informed choices in treatment. Particular attention was given to the exact products UCHealth clinicians currently work with in their healthcare setting. Clinicians reviewed customized wound-care guidelines to ensure understanding of how to tailor care to individual patient needs with specific products at hand.
• Gamification: Healthcare is increasingly turning to innovative methods to make ongoing training more engaging, tapping into people’s natural motivations for learning, socializing, competition and achievement. This is especially important for updating and reinforcing essential protocols, such as best practices for wound care and management. To that end, UCHealth clinicians used a game created by Medline to test their skills, answering application questions and then talking through why each answer was correct.

“Differentiated learning modalities are essential to helping nurses absorb vital information effectively,” said Patricia Turner, senior manager, clinical solutions for Medline. “In 2024, our team has conducted more than 100 ‘gamification’ sessions — just one example of our commitment to unique training tactics that engage and empower nursing staff. Through these specialized approaches, nursing staff are getting and retaining the information they need to do their jobs effectively.”