Kicking the Pressure Ulcer Habit: A 12 Session Approach to Sustain Change Through Transfering WOC Knowledge to the Bedside

Purpose: Reducing hospital acquired PU (HAPU) is a challenge as difficult as kicking any unhealthy habit. After 7 years of building a comprehensive PU prevention initiative, the WOC team relentlessly continues to seek new ways to combat our HAPU problem. As a magnet designated academic medical center, staff engagement to drive positive patient outcomes is vital. Our unit based staff nurse Champions Of Skin Integrity (CSI) Team took ownership of rolling out this education series on each of our 35 in-patient units including ED and dialysis.

Objective: A 12 session power point blitz designed as serial individual bulletin boards were developed highlighting key elements to PU prevention: staging, POA vs HAC, risk assessment, daliy skin checks, positioning techniques, nutrition, incontinence, moisture shear and friction, device related injuries, etc. Graphics for this series capitalized on the "crime scene investigation" theme: PU being the crime. The outline of each session includes SBAR, data, "investigator newspaper", evidence based information and references. The CSI Team was provided a binder with the power point slides to post on their unit, rotating the topic every 2 weeks.

Outcome: After posting the first 3 sessions, the CSI team reported that 2 week time intervals was too short to capture all the staff, especially part time and weekend staff. Therefore, sessions are now posted for 1 month, equating to a full year (12 sessions) of bulletin board educaiton. To ensure staff engagement, the CSI team developed post tests with 0.5 CE credit for each session. For the past 7 years, PU prevention has been an important nurisng quality campaign at our 800 bed academic medical center. Despite a positive track record of PU reduction, the CSI team will not backslide, they keep pressing forward to ensure PU at __________ are at an irreducible minimum!