Lesson 1Assessing exudate, odor, peri-wound skin condition, and wound edge morphologyThis lesson explains how to carefully check the fluid coming from the wound, its smell, the skin around it, and the shape of the wound edges. It connects these to signs of infection, skin softening, poor blood flow, and pressure issues, teaching nurses to use the same words and record properly for good team talk in South Sudan.
Exudate amount, color, and viscosityDistinguishing serous, sanguineous, purulentOdor timing, intensity, and possible causesPeri-wound maceration, erythema, and eczemaWound edge shape, undermining, and callusStandard terms for describing local findingsLesson 2Characterizing tissue types: granulation, necrotic, slough, callus — identification and documentationThis lesson teaches how to look and feel to tell apart healthy new tissue, dead tissue, soft dead bits, and hard skin in diabetic foot wounds. It focuses on describing them right, guessing percentages, and what this means for healing and cleaning plans in local health centers.
Normal skin, epithelial tissue, and scarGranulation tissue color and qualitySlough appearance, texture, and adherenceDry and wet necrosis, eschar, and gangreneCallus formation at pressure pointsRecording tissue type percentages in notesLesson 3Vascular assessment for lower extremity wounds: palpation of pulses, capillary refill, ABI, TBI, toe pressuresThis lesson covers simple bed checks for blood flow in legs of diabetic patients. It includes feeling pulses, checking how fast blood returns to nails, ankle-arm index, toe pressures, and limits when vessels are hard or mixed problems, useful in South Sudanese settings.
Inspection for color, hair, and trophic changesPalpation of pedal and posterior tibial pulsesCapillary refill and limb temperature checksPerforming and interpreting ABI in diabetesToe pressures and TBI for calcified arteriesWhen to refer for vascular imaging or consultLesson 4Infection and inflammation recognition: local vs systemic signs, using IDSA/International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF) criteriaThis lesson helps spot infection and swelling in diabetic foot wounds. It tells apart harmless germs from real infection, looks at local and whole-body signs, and uses IDSA and IWGDF rules to rate how bad it is and decide what to do next in community care.
Normal healing inflammation versus infectionLocal signs in neuropathic and ischemic tissueSystemic signs and sepsis red flagsIDSA and IWGDF infection classificationWhen to obtain cultures and imagingUrgent referral criteria for limb-threatening casesLesson 5Relevant medical history and social determinants: glycemic control, comorbidities, mobility, footwear, living situation, access to transport and careThis lesson reviews important past health and social factors affecting diabetic foot wounds. It stresses blood sugar control, other illnesses, moving around, shoes, home life, and getting to transport and care services, key in rural South Sudan.
Targeted diabetes and treatment historyCardiovascular, renal, and neuropathy comorbiditiesMobility limits and fall or trauma historyFootwear type, fit, and wear patternsHome safety, support, and self-care capacityTransport, finances, and access to wound careLesson 6Standardized wound assessment frameworks (SITE, TIME, WoundBed, and Bates-Jensen)This lesson introduces main ways to check wounds in diabetic foot care, like SITE, TIME, WoundBed, and Bates-Jensen. It compares parts, scores, and how they help watch progress and talk with the team in South Sudanese hospitals.
Purpose of structured wound assessment toolsSITE framework elements and scoringTIME framework for wound bed preparationKey items in the WoundBed scoring systemBates-Jensen Wound Assessment overviewChoosing and applying a framework in practiceLesson 7Documentation standards and wound photography: consent, consistent lighting, orientation and measurement recordingThis lesson describes best ways to write notes and take wound photos. It covers getting permission, privacy, position, light, scale, and steady setup for good comparisons and legal records in local clinics.
Essential elements of wound chartingLegal and ethical aspects of documentationObtaining and recording photo consentStandard patient positioning and landmarksLighting, focus, and use of measurement scalesSecure storage and labeling of wound imagesLesson 8Pain assessment in neuropathic and ischemic feet: scales and bedside techniquesThis lesson looks at checking pain in numb or poor-blood-flow diabetic feet. It reviews pain measures, words for pain, and simple tests to tell nerve pain from rest pain, helping with pain relief and referrals in South Sudan.
Common pain patterns in diabetic foot diseaseNumeric and visual pain rating scalesNeuropathic pain descriptors and screening toolsFeatures of ischemic and rest pain at nightAssessing pain during dressing changesDocumenting pain response to interventionsLesson 9Neuropathy evaluation: monofilament testing, vibration (tuning fork), pinprick and proprioception testsThis lesson outlines step-by-step nerve checks in diabetic feet using thread test, tuning fork for vibration, pin for sharp feel, and balance tests. It stresses how to do it, score, and how lost feeling changes risks and teaching needs.
Screening questions for neuropathic symptoms10 g monofilament sites and applicationVibration testing with tuning fork techniquePinprick and temperature discrimination testsProprioception and balance assessmentRisk stratification based on sensory lossLesson 10Measuring wound dimensions, depth, and tunneling: tools and techniques (ruler, tracing, photography)This lesson gives practical ways to measure wound size, depth, and tunnels. It compares rulers, probes, drawings, and photos, focusing on stopping germs and steady methods between workers in South Sudanese care.
Selecting clean, single-use measuring toolsStandardizing length, width, and clock faceSafe depth and tunneling probing techniqueUsing wound tracings and acetate templatesClinical photography for serial comparisonRecording measurements and trends over time
