Clinical Practice

Clinical Procedures and Bedside Skills

A practical course in the bedside procedures a district clinician performs most often — cannulation, venepuncture, injection, catheterisation, nasogastric tube insertion, wound care and suturing, and incision and drainage — with particular attention to what specifically goes wrong and how to prevent it.

4.0 CPD credit hour · 14 modules · 261 minutes · 80% to pass · UGX 25,000

Course aim

To strengthen the safety and technique of routine bedside procedures, and to build a clear, immediate response to needlestick injury.

What you will be able to do

• Obtain informed consent and use a pre-procedure pause before any bedside procedure.
• Apply aseptic technique consistently, including where sterile supplies are limited.
• Perform intravenous cannulation, venepuncture and injection safely, including managing difficult access.
• Perform urinary catheterisation and nasogastric tube insertion, including confirming correct position.
• Clean and close a wound appropriately, and recognise when it should not be closed.
• Recognise and manage a needlestick injury according to post-exposure prophylaxis pathways.

Syllabus

1. Course Information — What this course covers, who it is for, and how it is assessed (12 min)
2. Learning Outcomes and Pre-Course Self-Assessment — What you should be able to do by the end, and where you stand now (10 min)
3. Introduction to Clinical Procedures — Consent, the pre-procedure pause, and aseptic technique (25 min)
4. Intravenous Cannulation — Technique, site selection and managing difficult access (25 min)
5. Venepuncture and Blood Culture Technique — Getting a usable sample, and getting it before treatment starts (20 min)
6. Intramuscular and Subcutaneous Injection — Site, technique and avoiding avoidable injury (18 min)
7. Urethral Catheterisation — Technique in both sexes, and avoiding the common complications (22 min)
8. Nasogastric Tube Insertion — Placement technique and confirming the tube is correctly positioned (20 min)
9. Wound Cleaning and Suturing — Assessing a wound, closing it safely, and knowing when not to (25 min)
10. Incision and Drainage of an Abscess — Recognising a simple abscess and draining it safely (20 min)
11. Sharps Safety and Needlestick Injury — Preventing exposure, and what to do when prevention fails (22 min)
12. Clinical Case Studies and Applied Clinical Reasoning — Three procedures, worked through from decision to aftercare (22 min)
13. Personal Reflection, Action Plan and Course Evaluation — Turning the course into a specific change in your own practice (12 min)
14. References and Further Reading — Where the guidance in this course comes from (8 min)

Who it is for

• Clinical Officers
• Medical Officers
• Nurses
• Allied Health Professionals

Competencies

• Intravenous cannulation and venepuncture
• Injection technique
• Urinary catheterisation
• Nasogastric tube insertion
• Wound assessment, cleaning and suturing
• Sharps safety and post-exposure response