Course Overview

Learning to manage a newly formed stoma is a detailed task for both healthcare professionals and patients to undergo. This Ausmed Course will help learners strengthen their understanding of the key clinical takeaways for caring for a patient with a stoma in the acute setting.

Topics

• What is a stoma?
• Preparing a patient to have a stoma formed
• Managing a newly formed stoma
• Understanding stoma appliances
• Common complications seen with newly formed stomas

Need

As of 2022, around 50,000 Australians live with a stoma. There are a variety of different kinds of stomas, with each type requiring nuanced care and management. The acute setting is where this care journey begins.

Purpose

The purpose of this Ausmed Course is to provide learners with an update on best practices for acute stoma care to facilitate positive patient outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the different types of stomas, their indications and features.
• Apply best-practice stoma care preoperatively and postoperatively.
• Confidently educate patients and their carers about their responsibilities for safe stoma care.
• Recognise and address the psychological impacts of living with a stoma and how to manage them.

Target Audience

This Ausmed Course is intended for nurses and other healthcare professionals working predominantly in acute care settings looking to increase their knowledge about acute stomas and best practices for providing high-quality care to patients with newly acquired stomas.

Disclosure

No conflict of interest exists for anyone in the position to control content for this activity. Wherever possible, generic or non-proprietary names of medications or products have been used.

Educator

Carmen George View profile

Carmen George is a stomal therapy nurse, as well as being actively involved with the World Council of Stomal Therapy (WCET) and the Australian Association of Stomal Therapy Nurses. She has worked in stomal therapy since 1986 in public hospitals, private hospitals and in the wider community. Carmen has been involved in educational programs for stoma, wound and continence nurses in Australia, Indonesia, Iran and other countries.