Clinical competence in sharp debridement: an innovative course.

A quick and effective way of promoting wound healing is to carry out sharp debridement where indicated, but this procedure carries a high level of clinical risk. Minimizing risk is an essential feature of clinical governance. A new course in wound debridement was developed at King's College, London in response to local NHS trust demand which required assessment of competence for this high-risk procedure. This innovative development crossed traditional boundaries, and required high collaboration between education and practice.