Many people aspire to become a nurse especially those who possess the natural ability to care for people.
While nursing is without a doubt a promising career, it cannot also be denied that it is one of the most challenging professions to date.
This is one of the reasons why nurses decide to go into specialized areas. Not only will such a decision help improve their knowledge and skills, but it will also open doors to more opportunities in the future.
One such area is wound care, a specialization more nurses are pursuing these days.
What is Wound Care?
As the name implies, getting into wound care means taking care of various wounds, ostomies, and other skin and wound-related conditions.
The focus of this specialization is aimed at helping the body heal because not all wounds are equal and different ones require different treatment strategies.
It is the responsibility of a wound care specialist nurse to administer the right and proper treatment for their patient’s wound in order for them to heal in the soonest time possible.
So, what exactly does a wound care nurse do?
Wound care specialist nurses don’t just treat your ordinary, everyday wound. This is because they care for the more acute and chronic types of wounds. Those that do not heal easily such as pressure ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, venous stasis ulcers, abdominal stomas, wounds complicated by continence disorders, and drains, among others.
As a wound care specialist nurse, it’s your responsibility to educate a patient and their families on the proper treatment and care required to help heal their wounds properly.
Important Duties of a Wound Care Specialist Nurse
Apart from the above-mentioned responsibilities, a nurse specializing in wound care is also expected to perform the following:
Examine and identify the cause of the wound as well as the appropriate treatment required to allow the wound to heal faster.
Identify causative factors and factors which hinder healing and eliminate these causes.
Inform the patient, the family, and staff involved about the strategies that will promote proper wound healing as well as ways to keep other wounds like bedsores from developing.
Come up with rehab plans as well as evaluate pouching systems. A wound care specialist nurse may also assist in choosing pre-operative stoma sites.
Evaluate the social, physical, and psychological impact of incontinence among patients.
Monitor results, assess outcomes and help in restoring continence.
Wound care specialist nurses usually work in hospitals and may be assigned to different units like MedSUrg, and ICU.
Most frequently, wound specialist nurses are in nursing homes taking care of our elderly patients who are prone to skin and wound breakdown.
Getting Wound Certified
Just like any other profession, any individual pursuing better opportunities need to have adequate knowledge and skills to perform their duties at a higher level.
For a wound care specialist nurse, a wound care certification will help accomplish such goals. Getting wound certified will not just help boost your career, but it will also give your future patients a better chance of overcoming their skin and wound issues.
Wound care certification also establishes you as an expert in a fast-growing area, skin, and wound care. Not only will you enjoy the benefits of broader career options, but you will also be able to work directly with physicians and therapists who share the common goal of taking wound care and management to a higher level.
Perhaps more importantly, wound care certification may help protect you from possible legal issues in the future.
Final Thoughts
Being a wound care specialist nurse is one of the best specializations any nurse can get into but why stop there when you have the option to take your career to the next level by becoming a wound care certified nurse.
Are you ready to take the next step to a brighter career in wound care nursing? Talk to us so we can help you get wound care certified today.