Wound Care Nurse RN

WOUND CARE NURSE

Reports to: Director of Nursing

OVERVIEW:

Provides care that will quickly and safely heal various types of wounds, including surgical openings, ulcers, bed sores, feeding tube sites, and abscesses. The wound care nurse will access the wounds, create and implement treatment plans, monitor infection and signs of various infections, and clean wounds.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Maintain a Comprehensive care plan for skin impairments- updating as needed to include any change in treatment, improvement and/or decline
• Weekly wound rounds with wound consultant
• Weekly wound measurements documented
• Review investigation for all new skin opening related to pressure
• Monitoring vascular/arterial/surgical wounds and document appropriately -treatment, comprehensive care plan, coordinating follow-up when indicated & maintain weekly measurements
• Educate and counsel patients and their families on wound care processes and issues
• Demonstrate wound care procedures to other care givers
• Attend morning report, identify any new opening and document accordingly
• Work with rehab to evaluate residents who present with a decline
• Attend CMI meeting when appropriate
• Correspond with rehab to determine residents need for positioning devices
• Maintain facility wound tracking report
• Monitor residents with devices to ensure skin maintenance
• Maintain a list of all residents with devices including but not limited to splints or braces.
• Ensure devices are identified on plan of care and worn appropriately via audit tool/rounds
• Attend weight meeting, ensure appropriate interventions to maintain skin integrity
• Provide in-service to floor nurses to ensure awareness related to skin integrity maintenance, documentation and care
• Maintain skin care policy
• Assist in the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) process