How can wound care nursing change your life?

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How can wound care nursing change your life?
The image of nursing has come a long way from
Florence Nightingale. Traditionally and
generically, nurses have more than often been
regarded as the healers of the medical world
healing patients with comforting words, tending
their wounds, and dressings. The nursing
profession is now no longer just a calling but
offers a more professional platform for the
nursing professional. It offers them a multitude
of avenues and specialization, and thus nursing
is no longer thought of having just a good
bedside manner and compassion. The National
Nurses Week is celebrated from May 6-12 annually
to regard some of the great sacrifices and care
provided to the patients across the
state. Nursing spans across from the basic
cleaning of the wound to critical care, and
across a range of settings from the small clinic
and hospitals to the battlefields and in todays
more technologically advanced world of wound care
from gene therapy to gauze, it is but the
nurse Who principally cares for the patients
with wounds? Wound healing encompasses dressings
and infection control the promotion of
therapeutic nutrition, mobility, psychosocial
support, hygiene, and comfort. This entire gamut
of wound healing is under the practice of a
nurse, albeit a certified wound care
specialist who goes through a rigorous nursing
curriculum and countless hours of specialized
training, to address not just the clinical needs
but also the patients physiological needs.
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How can wound care nursing change your life?
In 1968, the Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses
(WOCN) Society was formed and today after nearly
50 years is regarded as the oldest wound care
society, and its WOCN Board certification is
considered the gold standard for wound nursing,
having certified over 6,100 nurses worldwide. It
began with a mission to promote educational,
clinical, and research opportunities to advance
the practice and guide the delivery of expert
health care to individuals with wound, ostomy,
and continence issues. Today, the WOCN Board
certification is offered at two levels
basic/baccalaureate level and advanced
practice/masters level. Tri-specialty or
individual specialty in the wound and/or related
fields of continence and ostomy care are also
offered. Importance of Wound care Wound care as
a specialty is thus increasing in importance as
more and more Americans suffer from complex
conditions that can lead to chronic and
hard-to-heal wounds. Studies have shown that a
rough population prevalence rate for chronic
non-healing wounds in the United States is
2percent of the general population.
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How can wound care nursing change your life?
Although the prevalence rate of chronic wounds is
regarded as similar to that of heart failure,
research has put forth a conservative estimate of
the staggering cost of caring for these wounds
which are said to exceed 50 billion per year,
said to be 10 times more than the annual budget
of the World Health Organization. According to
the AAWC fact sheet (May 2014), 4.8 million
Americans are stated to have a skin wound or
ulcer that would need to be treated. Three key
patient groups that are growing and will
need wound care services diabetes patients, the
elderly, and the bariatric population. Wound care
patients need wound care equipment and supplies
throughout their care, which can last for a long
time.   And, the three key categories a wound
care provider can offer are dressings and
bandages, therapeutic support surfaces, and
negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT). These
offer points of specialization, along with a wide
range of items that support a very broad wound
care business.   What does Wound care Nursing
Involve? Wound care nursing is an especially
fulfilling practice because as a nurse you
actually help the body heal. Wound care nurses
require a lot of patience, respect for the
patient, and ambition to stay up-to-date on
current procedures and techniques.
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How can wound care nursing change your life?
Besides, they work not just with the patient but
with the family by educating and providing care
instructions for patients and families. Chronic
wounds need continual care and nurses who
specialize in wound care need to be particularly
vigilant in order to prevent any complications
like infection.   Opportunities for Wound care
Nurses Given the categories of patient groups
that need wound care nursing and the specialties
within wound care itself, the opportunity is
broad. With the right level of commitment, and
passion wound care nurses can establish
themselves as an expert resource in the
healthcare marketplace. The median salary of a
wound care nurse is 64,076 with a range of
41,701 83,160. An entry-level Wound Care
Nurse with less than 5 years of experience can
expect to earn an average total compensation of
57,000 based on 267 salaries provided by
anonymous users. The average total compensation
includes tips, bonuses, and overtime pay. A Wound
Care Nurse with mid-career experience which
includes employees with 5 to 10 years of
experience can expect to earn an average total
compensation of 61,000 based on 162 salaries. An
experienced Wound Care Nurse which includes
employees with 10 to 20 years of experience can
expect to earn an average total compensation of
63,000 based on 118 salaries.
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How can wound care nursing change your life?

• A Wound Care Nurse with late-career experience
  which includes employees with greater than 20
  years of experience can expect to earn an average
  total compensation of 64,000 based on 60
  salaries.
• The Roles and Duties of a Wound Care Nurse
• Evaluate and observe wounds
• Debride, clean, and bandage wounds
• Understand and determine the treatment required
• May involve specializing in certain wound types
  like foot ulcers etc
• Work with patients and caregivers to monitor
  wounds
• Prepares proper documentation for Medicare reimbur
  sement and write orders to promote wound healing
  and the prevention of skin breakdown
• Thus, the employment outlook for a wound care
  nurse is very good. Given the aging population
  and changing lifestyle, the demand for wound care
  nurses in a variety of settings from acute care
  in hospitals to nursing home care will always be
  on the up and up. It offers stability, is a
  fairly independent specialty, and offers
  flexibility in the area of nursing.

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How can wound care nursing change your life?
So if one has a bit of compassion and the need
to heal others, then one doesnt need to be a
physician. Being a wound care nurse can bring a
lot of fulfillment to your life just by easing
your patients pain and providing relief. Yes,
you do need a strong heart and nerves of steel
when cleaning wounds. But to provide relief and
ease the pain at the end of the day, make one
sleep knowing that your patient will rest easy in
the days to come!