Wound Care Nursing - A Guide to Practice (Paperback, 1st New edition)

Nurses and wound management The management of persons with wounds is an interesting, challenging, and rewarding endeavour. Wound management is practised by nurses in all care settings with patients of all ages. At some time, nurses who work in settings as diverse as a residential aged-care facility, an intensive-care unit of a major hospital, or a small clinic in a remote rural community can all expect to manage a person with a wound. Wounds are thus a common and significant cause of morbidity and mortality-and represent a financial and social burden to individuals and the wider community. Nurses have a vital role in wound management. Because they spend so much time with patients, nurses are well positioned to assess and implement wound-management interventions to achieve optimal outcomes. Through a close professional relationship with patients, nurses can deliver evidence-based wound management with a person-centred focus. The apparently simple act of changing a dressing epitomises the caring nature of nursing-the healing touch of a nurse in reaching out to a wounded person. Wound management is both a generalist and a specialist skill. Because virtually all nurses care for a person with a wound at some stage during their careers, wound management is a generalist skill. Every nurse must be able to plan and implement interventions that facilitate optimal outcomes and cause no harm. Basic skills in wound management are thus an essential aspect of sound general nursing. In addition to these generalist skills, some nurses have developed advanced skills in wound management. These nurses might hold a position as a wound-management specialist, consultant, or resource nurse. The development of advanced nursing roles provides nurses with an opportunity to build a career in wound management. The scientific and technological advances that are now being made in wound management have the potential to revolutionise the treatment of wounds. As a consequence, wound management as a specialty area of practice has burgeoned in recent years. There are now many local, national, and international associations that are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in wound management. Multidisciplinary associations for wound management meet regularly to debate contemporary issues and to develop wound-management guidelines and documents. This collaboration of expert clinicians, researchers, and scientists provides a powerful unifying voice for wound management. In parallel with these developments, the role of nurses has also seen significant development. Nurses are no longer valued only for their skills in bandage application; rather, nurses have built a significant reputation as expert wound management clinicians in their own right.