Procedural Skills Training

These one day workshops provide structured competency based procedural skills training in Wound Management (Suturing), Orthopaedic Plaster (Splinting/Casting), Core and Advanced Clinical Skills.

For further information contact Nikki Murray: Email: admin@learnem.com.au

About the Procedural Skills Workshops

Wound Management (Suturing)

For Medical Officers, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Paramedics

In this workshop we begin by considering the importance of wound assessment. While simple wounds are common in acute care it is always important to consider concomitant injury(s) or disease, risk factors that may complicate wound management and assess the wound for injuries to vital tissues such as tendons, nerves and joints. The aim is to identify those wounds requiring referral due to nerve, tendon vascular, joint injury or with extensive tissue loss from the simple wounds that can using be debrided and easily closed. The workshop focuses on the management of simple wounds (meaning wounds with no evidence of tendon or nerve injury or penetration of a joint). Major considerations that are covered include setup, preparation and equipment, local anaesthesia and haemostasis, decontamination and debridement, techniques for wound closure including suturing, wound glues and staples, antibiotics and tetanus, analgesia and post discharge advice and follow up. 

At the completion of this workshop you should be confident to assess a wound for serious injury and within your scope of practice be able to debride and manage the majority of the wounds you encounter in your clinical practice.

Credentialling for Advanced Nursing Practice

The program meets the SA Health training requirement for nurses wishing to become credentialled in advanced practice nursing practice. Upon completion of the workshop training, the nurse is required to be observed managing 5 patients requiring acute wound management (including at least three that require closure with sutures). The observer must be credentialled to suture patients in their clinical practice. 

Core Clinical Skills

For Medical Officers and Nurses

There are many procedural skills that are relatively straight forward to learn and where our scope of practice permits can be readily incorporated into our clinical work. This workshop provides hands on training for many of these core clinical skills and for nurses includes a standard competency based assessment.

Hands on clinical skills taught in the workshop include:

• Male and Female Urinary Catheterisation

• Nasogastric Tube Insertion

• Intravenous Cannulation

• Venepuncture and Arterial Blood Gas Sampling

• Basic Eye : Examination and Procedures: VA, eyelid eversion, local anaesthesia, eye irrigation/morgan lens

• External cardiac pacing and Synchronised cardioversion

• High flow Nasal Prong Therapy 

• Pleurocentesis and Paracentesis (Medical)

• Competency Assessment: Male IDC, IV Cannulation (Nursing)

Orthopaedic Plastering (Splints / Casts)

For Medical Officers, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Paramedics

In this workshop we explore how to apply plaster splints and casts to manage a wide range of upper and lower limb orthopaedic injuries. A major focus is the hand on practising of a range of plaster techniques with the aim of being able to apply a splint that minimises the risk of discomfort to the patient (eg from local irritation or unnecessary restriction of movement distal and proximal to the injury), plaster failure due to poor technique and complications due to local pressure areas (beneath the plaster) and compartment syndrome. We will also consider the importance of selecting the correct splint for the injury. There are, for example a variety of splints that can be used for the wrist or hand injury including the dorsal backslab, volar splint, the ulna gutter and the thumb spica. The workshop covers the knowledge required to select the most appropriate splint for a particular injury and consider discharge advice and follow up for the patient.

Splints that will be taught and practised in the workshop include: Dorsal Backslab (upper limb), Volar splint, Ulna Gutter splint, Thumb spica, Scaphoid Splint and Dorsal backslab (lower limb). A range of other splints and casts may be discussed/demonstrated depending on the experience of the group.

Credentialling for Advanced Nursing Practice

The program meets the SA Health training requirement for nurses wishing to become credentialled in advanced practice nursing practice. Upon completion of the workshop training, the nurse is required to undertake 5 "observed" plaster splints on patients with acute limb injury and have these verified by a clinician skilled in splinting. 

Advanced Clinical Skills - Medical

For Medical Officers, Nurse Practitioners, Remote/Rural based Nurses

The workshop provides hands on training in many of the advanced clinical skills required for clinical practice and incorporates competency based assessments.

Hands on clinical skills taught in the workshop include:

• Ultrasound guided IV Cannulation

• Arterial line insertion

• Fascia Iliaca Block

• Suprapubic Catheterisation

• Lumbar Puncture

• Slit Lamp examination

• Corneal foreign body removal

• Non-invasive Ventilation

• Competency Assessment: US guided IV, Fascia lIiaca block, Suprapubic catheterisation

Advanced Clinical Skills - Nursing

For Nurses and Nurse Practitioners

The workshop provides hands on training in many of the advanced clinical skills required for clinical practice and incorporates competency based assessments.

Hands on clinical skills taught in the workshop include:

• Ultrasound guided IV Cannulation

• Setting up: Arterial Line

• Setting up: CVC Line

• Ventilator: Non-invasive ventilation in the self-ventilating patient

• Ventilator: Mandatory Ventilation in the intubated patient

• Setting up for a Thoracostomy Tube insertion and Dry Seal drain

• Setting up for Endotrachael intubation

• Competency Assessment: Ventilator, Arterial Line, CVC Line

Procedural Skills Workshops: Calendar for 2026

Procedural Skills Prelearning