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Practical Issues in Wound, Skin and Ostomy Management
By Cindy Barefield, BSN, RN-BC, CWOCN
Like many hospitals, Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital uses national benchmarks such as the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI®) to measure quality outcomes. Based on benchmark reports that showed an increased trend of pressure ulcers in critically ill patients in our hospital, the clinical nurses in our Critical Care Shared Governance Unit-Based Council (CCSGUBC) identified an improvement opportunity. (more…)
Read MoreBy Jeri Lundgren, BSN, RN, PHN, CWS, CWCN
Research has shown that exercise can help ease symptoms in patients with arterial insufficiency, venous insufficiency, neuropathic disease, or a combination of these conditions. Here’s what you need to know to ensure your patients reap the most benefits from exercise. (more…)
Read MoreBy Nancy Morgan, RN, BSN, MBA, WOC, WCC, DWC, OMS
Each issue, Apple Bites brings you a tool you can apply in your daily practice. Here’s a brief overview on moldable, bendable, and stretchable adhesive rings and strips used to improve the seal around a stoma.
Adhesive rings and strips can be an alternative to stoma paste for filling or caulking uneven skin contours next to and around a stoma, fistula, or wound. They create a waterproof seal that protects the underlying skin from irritation and are used with (not in place of) the ostomy pouch and skin barrier. Moldable rings and strips may (more…)
Read MoreFactors associated with better adherence to antidiabetic medications taken by patients with diabetes include older age, male sex, higher education, higher income, use of mail-order vs. retail pharmacies, primary care vs. nonendocrinology specialist prescribers, higher daily total pill burden, and lower out-of-pocket costs. (more…)
Read MoreBy Jennifer Oakley, BS, RN, WCC, DWC, OMS
The author describes how to overcome challenges to effective communication in the healthcare setting.
Accurate communication among healthcare professionals can spell the difference between patient safety and patient harm. Communication can be a challenge, especially when done electronically. With an e-mail or a text, you can’t hear the other person’s voice or see the body language, so it’s easy to misinterpret the words. (more…)
Read MoreThis approach brings patient-centered care to life.
By Gail Rogers Hebert, MS, RN, CWCN, WCC, DWC, OMS, LNHA
Editor’s note: This article is the second in a two-part series on palliative wound care. For the first part, click here.
By preventing and relieving suffering, palliative care improves the quality of life for patients facing problems associated with life-threatening illness. This care approach emphasizes early identification, impeccable assessment, and treatment of pain and other issues—physical, psychosocial, and spiritual. (more…)
Read MoreBy Karen Culp, RN, WCC
I’m one of the nurses responsible for the pressure ulcer prevention education program at the 150-bed skilled nursing facility where I work. We try to keep education sessions simple, fun, and interactive. One day, our administrator asked us to develop a crossword puzzle and “minute to win it” education game that would be appropriate for all staff—registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, and staff from administration, the business office, scheduling, maintenance, dietary, and housekeeping. (more…)
Read MoreBy Jeri Lundgren, BSN, RN, PHN, CWS, CWCN
A declining pressure ulcer decreases the quality of life for patients and places providers at risk for regulatory citations and litigation. But it’s important for clinicians to determine whether the first appearance of skin injury is truly a stage I or II pressure ulcer or if it’s a deep tissue injury (DTI), a unique staging category for a pressure ulcer. Otherwise, a clinician might think a pressure ulcer is getting worse instead of the change being the normal progression of a pressure ulcer that is presenting as a DTI. (more…)
Read MoreBy Bill Richlen, PT, WCC, DWC, and Denise Richlen, PT, WCC, DCCT
How many times have you heard someone say, “I didn’t know PTs did wound care”? Statements like this aren’t uncommon. The role of physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists, and speech therapists in wound care is commonly misunderstood by and even a mystery to many clinicians. Sometimes the therapists themselves are confused about reimbursement or what their role on the wound care team can be. (more…)
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