Minor Illness & Injuries2 Jun 2008

The four day Minor Injuries course, run in 2 x two day sessions.

The four day Minor Injuries course, run in 2 x two day sessions is about bringing a safe foundation and confidence to anyone who may have to assess and treat an apparent minor injury. This collaboration between the PCTC and Teaching Health Ltd has been delivering training for practice nurses, nurse practitioners and paramedics on the first course run in Idle and further dates are attracting lots of interest.

"If it's an injury, that needs to go to A&E," I have heard so many times from patients themselves. This is unhelpful if you are elderly or 45 minutes from the nearest hospital, and if there are healthcare staff committed to helping you in a surgery or attending in an ambulance, it makes sense to have some able to do something.

With the increasing changes in primary and urgent care, services are becoming more diverse and from experience many patients access local services with their sprained ankle, painful knee or something in their eye.

Wounds are often seen as the remit of practice or district nurses, but there is still an anxiety about whether there is damage to deeper structures or whether an x ray is needed to exclude some glass. After attending this course the true 'minor' injury can be identified following a safe and systematic history taking and robust examination.

All the sessions begin with an introduction to the relevant anatomy and physiology and then an understanding of what is normal, then what can go wrong. Evidence based management and a rationale for referral are included to make the professional make better decisions.

An additional course run in a similar format is the assessment of Minor Illnesses. This could be a starting point for an academic programme, revision or managed as part of a personal development plan. The course begins with most of the first day looking at the essential history taking, differential diagnosis and red flag signs. These serve as the cornerstone for a number of subjects which then follow with an opportunity to practice examination skills. The course covers all the regular things you would expect to see in an average acute clinic, sore throat, headache, abdominal pain,etc. Supported by current evidence and top tips.

As the courses are designed to be short they do not have a formal assessment at the end of the course, but could be effectively used for CPD.

Both courses are delivered by Richard Brownhill, who has ongoing experience as an advanced practitioner in both A&E and primary care.

Both these courses sell out rapidly. Book now to secure YOUR place!