Aresolution is a serious decision or determination to do, or not to do, something. Traditionally, most New Year’s resolutions focus on self-improvement: losing weight, giving up a bad habit, exercising more, being a better person. Because most of us spend about half of our waking lives at work, perhaps our work lives should be the subject
of some of our resolutions. Here are a few work-related resolutions I’ve come up with:
• If your patient’s condition doesn’t improve after 2 weeks, reassess the treatment plan. Avoid weeks and weeks of no healing.
• Just say no to outdated treatment plans (such as wet-to-dry dressings, t.i.d. dressing changes, and hydrogen peroxide).
• Meet with suppliers and sales representatives on a regular basis. Set aside 1 day each week or month to find out what’s new.
• Avoid putting tape on your patients’ skin.
• Provide additional support for all discharged wound and ostomy care patients by scheduling routine follow-up via telephone calls, e-mails, letters, or in-person visits.
• Create a “Mini Me” by training and educating a colleague to cover for you when you’re gone.
• Keep up with the social side of wound care. Follow wound and ostomy care pages on Facebook (including Wound Care Advisor), track Twitter trends through #woundcare and #ostomy, and connect with wound and ostomy care professionals on LinkedIn.
• Start a wound care team.
• Create or update wound and ostomy patient education handouts.
• Clean out and organize wound and ostomy supply closets.
• Organize a free ostomy appliance wellness clinic quarterly.
• Educate, educate, educate yourself and others through in-services, skill-of-the-week posters, wound care newsletters, skill fairs, webinars, national wound conventions, and supplier-sponsored training sessions. Share copies of Wound Care Advisor with colleagues.
• Update relevant policies, procedures, and protocols.
• Perform, obtain, or review ankle-brachial index or toe-brachial index results for all patients before applying venous compression wraps.
• Start an ostomy support group by creating your own, or partner with the United Ostomy Associations of America.
• Design a quick “how to” checklist form for non–wound care staff to follow.
• Play nice with others. Remember to compliment, congratulate, appreciate, and listen to other’s opinions.
“Start by doing what is necessary,
then do what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
– Saint Francis of Assisi
From myself and the staff of Wound Care Advisor, we wish you a beautiful, magical, and prosperous New Year!
Donna Sardina, RN, MHA, WCC, CWCMS, DWC, OMS
Editor-in-Chief
Wound Care Advisor
Cofounder, Wound Care Education Institute
Plainfield, Illinois
DISCLAIMER: All clinical recommendations are intended to assist with determining the appropriate wound therapy for the patient. Responsibility for final decisions and actions related to care of specific patients shall remain the obligation of the institution, its staff, and the patients’ attending physicians. Nothing in this information shall be deemed to constitute the providing of medical care or the diagnosis of any medical condition. Individuals should contact their healthcare providers for medical-related information.
