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Practical Issues in Wound, Skin and Ostomy Management
By: Ronald A. Sherman, MD; Sharon Mendez, RN, CWS; and Catherine McMillan, BA
Maggot therapy is the controlled, therapeutic application of maggots to a wound. Simple to use, it provides rapid, precise, safe, and powerful debridement. Many wound care professionals don’t provide maggot therapy (also called wound myiasis) because they lack training. But having maggot therapy technology available for patients adds to your capabilities as a wound care provider. (more…)
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By Nancy Morgan, RN, BSN, MBA, WOC, WCC, DWC, OMS
Each issue, Apple Bites brings you a tool you can apply in your daily practice.
Transparent film dressings are thin sheets of transparent polyurethane (polymer) coated with an adhesive. These dressings are available in a variety of sizes and shapes. (more…)
Read MoreBy Debra Clair, PhD, APRN, WOCN, WCC, DWC
Providing wound care requires a great deal of knowledge and skill. To become a wound care nurse entails taking classes, gaining and maintaining certifications, and acquiring on-the-job experience. But despite your education, knowledge, skills, and certifications, you may encounter problems when wound care requires you to touch the patient in a sensitive or embarrassing area. Touching the patient in these areas is called intimate touch. (more…)
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According to the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP), incidence density is the best quality measure of pressure-ulcer prevention programs. Pressure-ulcer incidence density is calculated by dividing the number of inpatients who develop a new pressure ulcer by 1,000 patient days. Using the larger denominator of patient days allows fair comparisons between institutions of all sizes. (more…)
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By Joanne Aspiras Jovero, BSEd, BSN, RN; Hussam Al-Nusair, MSc Critical Care, ANP, RN; and Marilou Manarang, BSN, RN
A common problem in long-term care facilities, pressure ulcers are linked to prolonged hospitalization, pain, social isolation, sepsis, and death. This article explains how a Middle East rehabilitation facility battles pressure ulcers with the latest evidence-based practices, continual staff education, and policy and procedure updates. Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City (SBAHC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, uses an interdisciplinary approach to address pressure-ulcer prevention and management. This article describes the programs, strategies, and preventive measures that have reduced pressure-ulcer incidence. (more…)
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I am writing this letter to share the sense of honor and privilege I felt in working with the National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy (NAWCO) to organize the first Eastern Region WCC Conference during the Fall of 2013. What an experience! In addition to representing a top-notch organization, I increased my knowledge of wound care and its products dramatically and met many amazing clinicians on the same journey.
Traveling from seven states and a wide variety of care settings, nearly 100 wound care clinicians came together with the common goal of enhancing their ability to make a difference in the lives of their patients. We launched the process of forming a vital clinician network that will allow us to share product and procedure information and experiences, leverage the information in our individual care settings, and strengthen the wound care knowledge of our peers.
Throughout this experience, I talked with dozens of local wound care product representatives. Like the clinicians, they provided a wealth of wound care insights. I encourage clinicians to reach out to these “best friends” of wound care and take advantage of their depth of knowledge.
I am passionate about advocating proper wound care, and if I can help disseminate wound treatment knowledge to other clinicians in support of their patients, I need no better reward.
Finally, the opportunity to represent NAWCO filled me with pride because of the respect I have for its vision. I believe in the importance of continuing education, furthering knowledge, and ensuring expertise through a certification process that is based on solid, research-based wound care. My hope is to represent NAWCO in the future.
Thank you for this exciting opportunity!
Sincerely,
Janie Hollenbach, RN, WCC, OMS,
DAPWCA, FACCWS
The National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy (NAWCO), the largest wound care and ostomy certification organization in the United States, is pleased to announce that Cynthia (Cindy) Broadus, RN, BSHA, LNHA, CLNC, CHRM, WCC, DWC, OMS, was named executive director effective February 1, 2014.
Ms. Broadus brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the organization. She has excelled for over 2 decades in specialty nursing care, litigation, corporate management, and company development. She joins the organization at a time of exciting change and will be instrumental in achieving accreditation that will provide national and international recognition for NAWCO.
“I am excited to be a part of such a great organization and supporting the efforts of the close-knit community that makes up the NAWCO certificants,” Ms. Broadus says.
Read the full press release.
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.
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By Nancy Morgan, RN, BSN, MBA, WOC, WCC, DWC, OMS
Each issue, Apple Bites brings you a tool you can apply in your daily practice.
Exudate (drainage), a liquid produced by the body in response to tissue damage, is present in wounds as they heal. It consists of fluid that has leaked out of blood vessels and closely resembles blood plasma. Exudate can result also from conditions that cause edema, such as inflammation, immobility, limb dependence, and venous and lymphatic insufficiency.
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By Jennifer Oakley, BS, RN, WCC, DWC, OMS
I used to think I could do it alone. I took the wound care certification course, passed the certification exam, and took all of my new knowledge—and my new WCC credential—back to the long-term care facility where I worked. I was ready to change the world.
It didn’t take me long to figure out that I couldn’t change the complex world of wound care alone. I needed a team of specialists who could manage my patient’s troubles with nutrition, swallowing, activities of daily living, positioning, body image issues, and many other areas that required expertise I didn’t have. (more…)
Read MoreBy Beth Hoffmire Heideman, MSN, BSN, RN, WCC, DWC, OMS
Fifty shades of wound care at home refers to treating the whole patient and the patient’s caregiving supporters—not just the wound. Only by understanding the nuances, or shades, of a patient and his or her environment can clinicians best achieve desired outcomes.
Wound healing in home care depends on teamwork. Members of the team must understand the unique situation of delivering care in the home and how to help patients adhere to the plan of care. (more…)
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By Kulbir Dhillon, MSN, FNP, APNP, WCC
Venous disease, which encompasses all conditions caused by or related to diseased or abnormal veins, affects about 15% of adults. When mild, it rarely poses a problem, but as it worsens, it can become crippling and chronic.
Chronic venous disease often is overlooked by primary and cardiovascular care providers, who underestimate its magnitude and impact. Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) causes hypertension in the venous system of the legs, leading to various pathologies that involve pain, swelling, edema, skin changes, stasis dermatitis, and ulcers. An estimated 1% of the U.S. population suffers from venous stasis ulcers (VSUs). Causes of VSUs include inflammatory processes resulting in leukocyte activation, endothelial damage, platelet aggregation, and intracellular edema. Preventing VSUs is the most important aspect of CVI management. (more…)
Read MoreBy Jennifer Zinn, MSN, RN, CNS-BC, CNOR, and Vangela Swofford, BSN, RN, ASQ-CSSBB
For surgical patients, operative wound classification is crucial in predicting postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs) and associated risks. Information about a patient’s wound typically is collected by circulating registered nurses (RNs) and documented at the end of every surgical procedure. (more…)
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