Sub-acute Nursing: Recovery Monitoring and Care Transitions

Course Purpose

This course teaches recovery surveillance across eight connected areas: baseline assessment and escalation; infection and sepsis; pressure injury prevention and staging; impaired wound healing; venous thromboembolism; delirium versus dementia; dysphagia and tracheostomy surveillance; and integrated nutrition, mobility, telemedicine, and care transitions.

Continuing Education Credit Designation

This educational activity is credited for 3 contact hours at completion of the activity.

Overview

This course teaches recovery surveillance across eight connected areas: baseline assessment and escalation; infection and sepsis; pressure injury prevention and staging; impaired wound healing; venous thromboembolism; delirium versus dementia; dysphagia and tracheostomy surveillance; and integrated nutrition, mobility, telemedicine, and care transitions.

Objectives

Upon completion of this independent study, the learner will be able to:

1. Construct an individualized recovery baseline from hospital records, direct assessment, patient accounts, and caregiver observations.
2. Compare vital signs, cognition, intake, skin findings, and mobility with previous observations to recognize deterioration.
3. Communicate acute changes, assessment limitations, and response needs through established clinician and emergency escalation pathways.
4. Distinguish infection, historical SIRS findings, and sepsis-associated organ dysfunction without treating screening criteria as diagnostic certainty.
5. Assess pressure injury risk using direct examination and the source-described Braden elements and categories.
6. Differentiate pressure injury stages and classifications using the tissue findings and etiology described in R2.
7. Individualize repositioning, pressure redistribution, skin inspection, and shear reduction to patient condition and care requirements.
8. Explain how diabetes, perfusion, smoking, nutrition, obesity, stress, and steroid exposure can affect wound healing.
9. Recognize VTE risk, possible DVT findings, and prophylaxis discrepancies requiring attending-clinician and pharmacy review.
10. Differentiate acute fluctuating inattention from usual dementia manifestations, including delirium superimposed on dementia.
11. Recognize dysphagia cues and bedside assessment limitations while routing swallowing and consistency decisions to qualified services.
12. Recognize tracheostomy bleeding, obstruction, and dislodgement concerns and communicate promptly within demonstrated competency.
13. Identify intake and nutrition concerns without applying pediatric severe malnutrition criteria to adult residents.
14. Support individualized mobility and fall prevention while assessing functional, medication-related, and environmental contributors.
15. Prepare accessible telemedicine-supported consultations while communicating privacy, technology, and examination limitations.
16. Provide actionable transition information about medications, assistance, ongoing care, caregiver understanding, and follow-up access.

Who this course is for:

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, registered nurses, licensed practical or vocational nurses, and other healthcare providers in any setting who want continuing education on Sub-acute Nursing: Recovery Monitoring and Care Transitions.

Course outline

12 sections · finish in any order across devices

1. 1

   Course overview and learning objectives

2. 2

   Introduction

3. 3

   The Sub-acute Recovery Setting: Baseline Surveillance and Escalation

4. 4

   Infection and Sepsis: Recognizing Subtle Deterioration

5. 5

   Pressure Injury Prevention, Skin Inspection, and Source-defined Staging

6. 6

   Impaired Wound Healing: Recognizing Barriers and Reporting Non-progress

7. 7

   Venous Thromboembolism: Mobility, Recognition, and Prophylaxis Communication

8. 8

   Delirium Recognition: Distinguishing Acute Change from Dementia

9. 9

   Dysphagia, Aspiration Risk, and Tracheostomy Airway Surveillance

10. 10

    Integrated Recovery: Nutrition, Falls, Telehealth, and Safe Care Transitions

11. 11

    Nursing Considerations

12. 12

    Conclusion

This Course Satisfies

Requirement summaries come from our state requirement records. All Users of Fast CE For Less’s website and content are responsible for knowing their state’s license and renewal requirements.

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