“This is how we’ve always done it” isn’t good enough

March 25, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

Donna Sardina, RN, MHA, WCC, CWCMS, DWC, OMS

Have you ever faced responsibility for a patient-care situation you learned about in school but had yet to encounter in the real world? With so many different health conditions and constant advancements in medical care, it’s not surprising that this happens frequently to many clinicians.

The first and easiest way for most of us to handle this situation is to ask our coworkers what to do. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, we as clinicians should reach a little further and get corroboration of what coworkers tell us. What we learn on the job may sound—and even seem—credible but it also needs validity so it can stand up in a legal situation. Recently, I was teaching a class to clinicians on ostomy care when one student shrieked, “Our entire hospital system has been doing this wrong for years.” (more…)

It takes a village: Leading a wound team

March 25, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

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…)

Maryland Nursing Staff Receive Wound Care Training and Certification

February 28, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

http://www.nawccb.org/library/documents/Press%20releases/2014%20Maryland%20Nurses%20Get%20Certified%20WCEI.pdf

Birch helps wounds heals faster

February 20, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140124082600.htm

Avoid surprises when connecting between care settings

January 30, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Jeri Lundgren, BSN, RN, PHN, CWS, CWCN

As wound care clinicians, we know that an interdisciplinary, holistic approach to prevention and management of a wound is crucial to positive outcomes, no matter where the patient is being seen. Yet too often when a patient transfers from one care setting to another, the only wound information that’s communicated is the current topical treatment. Most transfer forms only include generic spaces for “any skin concerns” and “treatments,” with no prompts for obtaining additional information. In fact, clinicians in many care settings frequently report they had no idea the patient had a wound until he or she was admitted.

Here’s how you can get the information you need to best care for the patient being transferred. (more…)

Fifty shades of wound care at home

January 30, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By 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…)

Clinical Notes: diabetic foot osteomyelitis, BIA, footwear

January 30, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

Antibiotics and conservative surgery yield similar outcomes in patients with diabetic foot osteomyelitis

A study in Diabetes Care finds that antibiotics and surgery have similar outcomes related to rate of healing, time of healing, and short-term complications in patients who have neuropathic forefoot ulcers and osteomyelitis, but no ischemia or necrotizing soft-tissue infections.

“Antibiotics versus conservative surgery for treating diabetic foot osteomyelitis. A randomized comparative trial” compared two groups: an antibiotics group and a surgery group. Patients in the antibiotics group received antibiotics for 90 days, and patients in the surgery group received conservative surgery with postoperative antibiotics for 10 days. (more…)

Quality-improvement initiative: Classifying and documenting surgical wounds

January 30, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By 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…)

How to apply a spiral wrap

January 30, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

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.

Description

The spiral wrap is a technique used for applying compression bandaging.

Procedure

Here’s how to apply a spiral wrap to the lower leg. Please note that commercial compression wraps come with specific instructions for proper bandaging technique. Be sure to follow these instructions to provide safe and effective compression. (more…)

Have you made your New Year’s resolutions?

January 30, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

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: (more…)

When and how to culture a chronic wound

January 30, 2014February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

By Marcia Spear, DNP, ACNP-BC, CWS, CPSN

Chronic wound infections are a significant healthcare burden, contributing to increased morbidity and mortality, prolonged hospitalization, limb loss, and higher medical costs. What’s more, they pose a potential sepsis risk for patients. For wound care providers, the goal is to eliminate the infection before these consequences arise.

Most chronic wounds are colonized by polymicrobial aerobic-anaerobic microflora. However, practitioners continue to debate whether wound cultures are relevant. Typically, chronic wounds aren’t cultured unless the patient has signs and symptoms of infection, which vary depending on whether the wound is acute or chronic. (See Differentiating acute and chronic wounds.) (more…)

Researchers Explain Why Some Wound Infections Become Chronic

December 30, 2013February 25, 2020 Wound Care Advisor

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131217124019.htm

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