Application
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to effectively assess the severity of a burn injury and implement appropriate emergency care and management strategies for clients in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
The unit applies to those Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Workers providing a range of primary health care services to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities.
All work is to be carried out with guidance from and under supervision of a medical practitioner or other appropriate health care professional.
The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State/Territory legislation, Australian/New Zealand standards and industry codes of practice.
Elements and Performance Criteria
ELEMENT | PERFORMANCE CRITERIA |
Elements define the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria specify the level of performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. |
1. Assess the severity of a burn injury | 1.1 Use culturally appropriate and safe communication skills when treating clients 1.2 Assess the size and depth of a burn injury using appropriate estimation methods 1.3 Identify the pre-disposing factors to burn depth progression 1.4 Identify the pre-disposing factors to delayed burn wound healing |
2. Implement burn injury emergency management procedures appropriate to the client’s burn injury | 2.1 Identify need(s) for emergency services and medical assistance and undertake triage as required 2.2 Communicate with personnel, emergency management services and medical assistance personnel as appropriate 2.3 Undertake a systematic survey of the client’s clinical status using standard emergency treatment principles 2.4 Use pain management strategies with the client 2.5 Refer clients with a burn injury to a Burn Unit, as appropriate 2.6 Identify and implement emergency management procedures and select correct wound dressing to treat identified type of wound 2.7 Commence intravenous resuscitation under supervision and/or as directed by a medical officer or other qualified personnel 2.8 Monitor and document fluid balance chart 2.9 Monitor and document the client’s ongoing clinical status |
3. Treat burn injury according to specific burn type | 3.1 Undertake a risk assessment of potential hazards in the incident area 3.2 Identify need(s) for emergency services/medical assistance and undertake triage as required 3.3 Communicate with appropriate personnel, emergency management services and medical assistance as appropriate 3.4 Convey information on client’s burn injury to relevant personnel to minimise the risk of complications |
3.5 Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when undertaking first aid 3.6 Use irrigation to minimise injury to unaffected body parts and to the health worker 3.7 Identify specific risks and implement management procedures to treat identified burn 3.8 Deliver appropriate first aid to a client, according to type of burns wound, using available resources and within the context of client and environmental factors 3.9 Treat wound(s) in the immediate post-first-aid period | |
4. Assess psychosocial needs and risks, implementing techniques that support the client and family. | 4.1 Establish effective communication with a client and family 4.2 Provide a supportive environment to a client and family in crisis 4.3 Identify presentation patterns of possible non-accidental burn injury in children and mandatory obligations when working with children 4.4 Identify presentation patterns of possible non-accidental burn injury in adults and provide appropriate support strategies 4.5 Undertake risk assessment of a client, identifying risk factors which may indicate a risk to self or the safety of others |
Evidence of Performance
The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the job role.
There must be evidence that the candidate has:
performed emergency burn procedures for at least five different clients with burn injuries. This includes:
- assessing percentage of Total Burn Surface Area (TBSA) using Lund and Browder
- estimating burn depth
- communicating with personnel from emergency management services and/or medical services
- calculating fluid resuscitation requirements according to modified Parklands formula
- commencing intravenous resuscitation under supervision and/or as directed by a Medical Officer or other qualified personnel
- monitoring and documenting:
o fluid balance chart
o vital signs
- undertaking a risk assessment of potential hazards in the incident area
- delivering information to minimise the risks of complications
- delivering appropriate first aid to the burn type
- administering appropriate wound care in the immediate post-first-aid period, appropriate to the type of burn
- performing ‘to the floor’ irrigation in relation to chemical burn injuries
- communicating information to minimise the risk of burn wound complications
- using PPE as required
- instigating communication with clients and families
- enabling a supportive environment for clients and families
- providing support strategies for clients with possible non-accidental burn injuries.
Evidence of Knowledge
The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role.
This includes knowledge of:
- structure and function of the skin
- principles of healing
- principles of burns shock
- effects of burn injury on the immune system
- pathophysiology of inhalation injury
- estimating the percentage of TBSA using the Lund & Browder method
- determination of burn depth
- knowledge of the Jackson Burn Wound Model
- principles of moist wound healing
- predisposing factors to burn depth progression
- predisposing factors to delayed burn wound healing
- morbidity and mortality rates of burn injuries
- referral guidelines for clients with a burn injury to a Burns Unit
- regional emergency services
- expert medical assistance
- emergency burns injury management procedures:
o incident severity assessment
o systematic assessment of the person’s clinical status
o pain management strategies
- specific risks and management of:
o chemical injury
o electrical injury
o circumferential injury
o inhalation injury
o children with burn injuries
- fluid input and urinary output
- monitoring and documenting the person’s clinical status
- specific first aid management for thermal, chemical, and electrical burns, and cold injuries
- potential hazards associated with:
o flame, scald and contact burn incidents
o liquid and powder chemical burn incidents
o electrical burn incidents
o LPG, ice and other cold injury incidents
- contact persons from emergency and medical services
- information that minimises the risk of complications
- predisposing factors to burn depth progression
- correct emergency management of spinal injury (electrical injuries)
- PPE usage
- risks and management of specific chemical burns, including:
o acid burn
o alkaline burn
o powder chemical burn
o alkali-metal burn
o bitumen burn
- burn wound care and management, including:
o principles of wound care
o what environment minimises risk of infection
o principles of wound dressing selection
o traditional or bush medicines and local products that may help or infect a burn injury
- initial psychosocial management, encompassing:
o effective communication with family and client
o supportive environment for family and client
o mandatory obligations when working with children
o supportive strategies in relation to non-accidental injuries when working with adults.
Assessment Conditions
Skills must be demonstrated working:
in a health service or centre
as part of a multidisciplinary primary health care team
with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities.
In addition, simulations and scenarios must be used where the full range of contexts and situations cannot be provided in the workplace or may occur only rarely. These are situations relating to emergency or unplanned procedures where assessment in these circumstances would be unsafe or is impractical.
Simulated assessment environments must simulate the real-life working environment where these skills and knowledge would be performed, with all the relevant equipment and resources of that working environment.
Assessors must satisfy the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.
Assessment must be undertaken by a workplace assessor who has expertise in this unit of competency and who is:
an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker
or:
accompanied by an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person who is a recognised member of the community with experience in primary health care.
Foundation Skills
The Foundation Skills describe those required skills (language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills) that are essential to performance. | |
Numeracy | in order to measure heart rate, temperature and blood pressure in determining clinical status in order to calculating probability and likelihood as part of risk assessment |
Other foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit.