Why do we need the Skin Health Advocate and Resource Professional (SHARP) Program?

To prevent wounds and their complications, it is imperative that front-line health-care clinicians acquire the knowledge to identify patients at risk for wounds and to implement appropriate preventative and treatment measures, using a systematic approach.

What is the "SHARP" Program?

This self-paced, multi-faceted, comprehensive and longitudinal program is based on the best available evidence, including the content of Wounds Canada’s Foundations of Best Practice for Skin and Wound Management articles, with the aim of increasing health-care clinicians' competencies in wound prevention and care.

What is included in the SHARP Program?

Learners complete 22 highly interactive on-line modules, eight synchronous webinars, two robust assignments, and participate in an asynchronous discussion forum manned by interprofessional faculty. Topics addressed in this include skin and wound anatomy and physiology, the Wound Prevention and Management Cycle, local wound care, and the prevention and management of common wound types, including diabetic foot ulcers, pressure injuries, surgical wound complications, skin tears, venous leg ulcers, burns, peripheral arterial ulcers, and moisture-associated skin damage.

How is the SHARP Program delivered? 

The program includes:

• online modules which have the participants reviewing best practice recommendation documents
• watching educational videos
• completing knowledge check questions
• reviewing case studies.

Live webinars for each wound etiology occur twice annually. The webinars are led by interprofessional faculty and have learners discussing their success in applying their new knowledge and enablers and barriers to practice change. Using live polling, learners also discuss complex wound cases presented by faculty, demonstrating the application of best practices in the prevention and management of wounds. Archived versions of webinars are available for viewing should the learner not be able to attend the live sessions.

NOTE: learners are not eligible to receive academic credits for the time spent viewing archived webinars.

What do I need to do to complete the SHARP Program?

In addition to completing the online modules, webinars, and two assignments learners are encouraged to interact with each other and faculty in the online asynchronous discussion forum. Interprofessional faculty will discuss learner questions and post interesting research articles and resources for discussion.

What do I receive once I have completed the SHARP Program?

Once the learner successfully completes all the components of this interprofessional program, they will receive a Letter of Accreditation from Wounds Canada and, if a minimum of 39.0 hours has been completed, a joint Certificate of Completion in Continuing Professional Development from Wounds Canada and Continuing Professional Development, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. learners may also be eligible to claim the following credits:

• College of Family Physicians of Canada Mainpro+ (1 credit/hour) Group Learning: 12.0 credits (1.5 credits for each webinar)
• College of Family Physicians of Canada Mainpro+ (1 credit/hour) Self Learning: 26.5 credits (asynchronous modules)
• Royal College Maintenance of Certification Section 1: 38.5 hours (12.0 hours for webinars; 26.5 hours for asynchronous modules)
• American Medical Association Category 1: 38.5 credits (12.0 hours for webinars; 26.5 hours for asynchronous modules)
• European Union for Medical Specialists UEMS-EACCME®: 38.5 credits (12.0 hours for webinars; 26.5 hours for asynchronous modules)

Time: 43.5 hours on average to complete, self-paced