Pressure injury prevention training for CNAs and caregivers

For CNAs, home health aides, LPNs and family caregivers: spot risk early, protect skin every shift, and report changes before they become wounds.

For: CNAs, home health aides, LPNs and family caregivers

  • 2 contact hours
  • 8 modules
  • 9 interactives
  • 4 job aids
  • Updated October 11, 2026

What you will be able to do

  • Explain how pressure, shear, friction and moisture cause pressure injuries, and identify people at risk and common body sites.
  • Recognize NPIAP pressure injury categories at an awareness level and distinguish pressure injury from moisture-associated skin damage.
  • Carry out prevention care within your role: repositioning, support surfaces, heel offloading, moisture care, device checks and nutrition support.
  • Report skin changes, new risk factors and missed care to the nurse promptly, using SBAR, and escalate possible neglect.
  • Document repositioning, skin observations and refusals accurately and honestly.
  • Describe the federal standard at 42 CFR 483.25(b)(1) and honor the person's rights, including the right to refuse care.

Learn how pressure, shear, friction and moisture damage skin, who is most at risk, and where to look. You will get an awareness-level picture of the NPIAP stages, learn to tell moisture damage from pressure injury, and practice the everyday prevention skills that matter most: repositioning, support surfaces, heel offloading, skin care, device checks and meal support.

Written for nurse aides, home health aides, LPNs and family caregivers in nursing homes, hospitals and homes across the U.S. Every module makes clear what aides and caregivers do (observe, protect, report, record) and what belongs to the nurse (assessment, staging and wound care).

Pressure injuries are painful, costly and often preventable. This course ties daily care to the federal nursing home standard at 42 CFR 483.25(b)(1) (F686), explains when a pressure injury may signal neglect, and gives you checklists and an SBAR template you can use on your next shift.

What you’ll be able to do Monday morning

  1. Check skin over bony areas and under devices every time you give care.
  2. Follow each person's repositioning interval and float heels when the care plan calls for it.
  3. Cleanse, dry and protect skin after every incontinence episode.
  4. Report new skin changes to the nurse on duty with a clear SBAR before you leave.
  5. Chart turns and skin checks at the time you do them, never in advance.

Curriculum

8 modules · 24 lessons · about 2 contact hours

01What is a pressure injury, and how does it happen?Free preview13 min
  1. What exactly is a pressure injury?
  2. Pressure, shear, friction and moisture
  3. What Tavion does next
  • Matching activity: Match the force to the prevention step

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

02Who is at risk, and where do pressure injuries form?13 min
  1. What puts a person at risk?
  2. How do nurses measure risk? (Braden Scale awareness)
  3. Where should you look?
  • Spot the issue: Spot the pressure risks in a room

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

03What do the pressure injury stages mean?14 min
  1. Why stages exist, and why aides don't assign them
  2. Stages 1 through 4
  3. Unstageable, deep tissue, device-related and mucosal injuries
  • Decision tree: Found a skin change: what now?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

04Is it a pressure injury or moisture damage?12 min
  1. What is moisture-associated skin damage?
  2. Skin tears and other look-alikes
  3. Caring for skin exposed to moisture
  • Sort activity: Pressure, moisture or other?

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

05How do repositioning and support surfaces protect skin?15 min
  1. Why and how often to reposition
  2. Positioning techniques that protect skin
  3. Support surfaces, rights and refusals
  • Spot the issue: Spot the problems in a turning log

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

06How do nutrition, hydration and medical devices affect skin?12 min
  1. Why nutrition and hydration matter for skin
  2. Medical devices: hidden pressure points
  3. Putting it together for Mr. Ruggeri
  • Branching scenario: Home health visit: Mr. Ruggeri

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

07What do federal rules expect, and when is a pressure injury a neglect concern?13 min
  1. The federal standard: 42 CFR 483.25(b)(1) and F686
  2. When does a pressure injury point to neglect?
  3. State differences and talking with families
  • State rules selector: Pressure injury reporting: state examples

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

08How do you report, document and escalate skin changes?13 min
  1. What to report, and how fast
  2. Using SBAR for skin changes
  3. What to document
  • SBAR builder: SBAR: a new heel change at shift's end
  • Self-assessment: My skin protection habits

Diagram · In practice checklist · 2-question knowledge check

Final assessment: 23 questions, 80% to pass, then your certificate

Try it now, no account needed

Home health visit: Mr. Ruggeri

A branching scenario from this course. Your choices are not saved.

Free sample activity

Home health visit: Mr. Ruggeri

You are Graciana Tolentino, a home health aide in Albuquerque. Mr. Bartolo Ruggeri, 74, had a stroke last spring and spends most of the day in his wheelchair. Today is a bath visit.

Inside the course

Practice activities

  • Matching activity1
  • Spot the issue2
  • Decision tree1
  • Sort activity1
  • Branching scenario1
  • Self-assessment1
  • SBAR builder1
  • State rules selector1

Job aids you keep

  • Skin Safety Care ChecklistChecklist
  • Skin Change SBAR and Stop-and-Watch ReportTemplate
  • Pressure Injury Prevention Reflection WorksheetWorksheet
  • In-Service Sign-Off Record: Pressure Injury PreventionLog

Credit and approval status

Certificate of completion

This course awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It is not approved or accredited by any board of nursing, nurse aide registry, state agency or continuing education accreditor. Nursing homes plan their own nurse aide in-service programs, and some states set added training rules for aides and home care workers. Check with your employer, staff development coordinator, board or state agency whether this course meets your specific requirement.

Pathways we may pursue include nursing continuing professional development accreditation, review by state agencies that accept nurse aide in-service content, and alignment review against wound, ostomy and continence nursing practice guidance. None of these approvals exists today; the course page will show an approval only after it is granted.

Our full approvals list

State notes

The core prevention practice in this course follows national guidance and applies everywhere. What varies by state is mostly about reporting, licensing and training:

  • Adverse event reporting: some states require facilities to report serious pressure injuries. Minnesota Statutes section 144.7065 requires hospitals and licensed ambulatory surgical centers to report stage 3, stage 4 or unstageable pressure ulcers acquired after admission.
  • Abuse and neglect reporting: state laws decide which workers must report suspected neglect to Adult Protective Services or other agencies, and how fast. Nursing homes also follow federal timelines in 42 CFR 483.12(c).
  • Licensing: assisted living, home care agencies and group homes are licensed by states, with different skin care, staffing and training rules.
  • Scope of practice: what aides may do with barrier creams, dressings and devices is set by state nurse practice acts, aide rules and employer policy.

This is not a state-specific edition. Ask your employer which state rules apply where you work.

Questions about this course

Does this course count toward continuing education or in-service hours?

This course awards a certificate of completion for 2 contact hours of instruction. It is not approved or accredited by any board of nursing, nurse aide registry or continuing education accreditor today. Many employers use courses like this in their in-service programs, but the employer decides what counts. Check with your employer, board or state agency before relying on it for a requirement.

Will this course teach me to stage or treat wounds?

No. Staging and wound treatment are nursing and provider responsibilities. This course gives aides and caregivers an awareness-level picture of the stages so they can recognize changes, describe them clearly and report them. LPNs can use it as a prevention refresher alongside their own scope of practice and employer policy.

Is this course useful for family caregivers at home?

Yes. The prevention steps, skin checks, moisture care and nutrition tips apply at home, and scenarios include a family caregiver. Family caregivers should call the home health nurse or the person's provider about any new skin change, and 911 for emergencies.

Is the course specific to my state?

No. Prevention practice follows national guidance and applies everywhere. The course notes where states differ, such as adverse event and neglect reporting and licensing rules, and includes verified state examples. Ask your employer which state rules apply to your setting.

How long does it take, and how is it assessed?

Plan on about 2 hours across eight short modules, with interactive scenarios, knowledge checks and a final assessment of 23 questions. You need 80% to earn your certificate and can retake the assessment if needed.

What will I receive?

A certificate of completion for 2 contact hours and four printable job aids: a skin safety checklist, a skin change SBAR and stop-and-watch template, a reflection worksheet and an in-service sign-off record.

This course is general education and training awareness from CE Courses Hub on pressure injury prevention. It is not legal, medical or professional advice and does not replace your employer's policies, each person's care plan, your licensing board's or registry's rules, or advice from a qualified professional. It does not teach wound staging or treatment. Completing it earns a certificate of completion for the stated contact hours; it is not approved or accredited by any licensing board, state agency or accreditor unless an approval is shown on the course page. Check with your board, employer or state agency whether this course meets your specific requirement.