Colostomy care involves maintaining cleanliness, preventing infection, and ensuring the proper function of a colostomy, which is a surgically created opening (stoma) in the abdomen that allows stool to exit the body into a colostomy bag. This care is essential for the patient’s hygiene, comfort, and overall health. The role of a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in colostomy care is to assist patients with their colostomy management while ensuring hygiene, comfort, and dignity. CNAs work under the supervision of nurses and follow facility policies regarding colostomy care.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
This course focuses on providing CNAs with the knowledge and skills required to care for patients with a colostomy. It includes proper hygiene practices, managing the stoma, and ensuring patient comfort and safety.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, the student will be able;
- Identify the anatomy and physiology of a colostomy.
- Demonstrate how to clean and care for a colostomy site.
- Learn how to recognize and report potential complications (e.g., infection, blockage).
- Provide emotional support for patients adjusting to living with a colostomy.
Instructions for taking the course
To complete the course successfully, you must go through all the lessons below. You MUST mark each lesson as complete by clicking the MARK COMPLETE BUTTON. If you do not click the mark complete button, you will not be allowed to proceed to the next lesson. Please notice that all lessons have a minimum set amount of time that you are expected to spend on each lesson. You will not be allowed to Mark the Lesson Complete until the timer resets to zero; that is, until the minimum time set for the course has passed. For example, if lesson A has an allocated minimum time of 10 minutes, you will have to wait 10 minutes before you can mark Lesson A complete. The Mark Complete button for lesson A will be grayed out and will not become active until 10 minutes are over. The Mark Complete button will initially be grayed out and is located at the left bottom of each lesson. The timer is located in the right side of the lesson as shown in this screenshot below.
WARNING: If you forget to click the Mark Complete button done, you will be prompted to go back to that lesson again and have to wait till the allocated timed minutes resets to zero again before the Mark Complete button becomes active. After all lessons are completed and they are Marked Completed, you will then be allowed to take the post-test. If you successfully pass the quiz, you will earn CEUs for this course and you can proceed to print out your certificate.
Course Content
