Wound Care Nurse

Overview

Provide a specialist nursing service for patients with complex wound care issues requiring support and treatment through the continuum of care.

• Undertake comprehensive patient assessment to include physical, psychological, social, and spiritual elements of care using best evidence-based practice in wound care.
• Develop and implement plans of care and case management in conjunction with the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) and the patient, family, and/or carrier as appropriate.
• Monitor and evaluate the patient’s response to treatment and amend the plan of care accordingly in conjunction with the MDT and patient, family, and/or carrier as appropriate.
• Make alterations in the management of patient’s condition in collaboration with the MDT and the patient in line with agreed pathways, policies, procedures, protocols and PPPGs.
• Accept appropriate referrals from MDT colleagues.
• Coordinate investigations, treatment therapies, and patient follow‑up.
• Communicate with patients, family, and/or carrier as appropriate to assess patient needs and provide relevant support, information, education, advice, and counselling as required.
• Work collaboratively with MDT to provide a seamless service delivery to the patient, family, and/or carrier as appropriate.
• Identify and agree appropriate referral pathways for patients requiring wound care interventions.
• Participate in case review with MDT colleagues.
• Participate in discharge planning for patients with complex needs in collaboration with MDT.
• Take a proactive role in the formulation and provision of evidence-based PPPGs relating to wound‑care nursing care.
• Take a lead role in ensuring the service for patients with wound‑care conditions is in line with best practice guidelines.
• Liaise with other departments on the provision of the service to ensure the highest quality of wound care is provided to patients.
• Attend multi-disciplinary meetings and ward rounds as required and participate in team discussions regarding treatment needs as appropriate.
• Demonstrate vision, innovation and flexibility in nursing practice.
• Assist in the development and regular reviews of patient information leaflets for specific wound‑care procedures.
• Develop and support the concept of advocacy particularly in relation to patient participation in decision making, thereby enabling informed choice of treatment options.
• Respect and maintain the privacy, dignity and confidentiality of the patient, family and/or carrier.
• Maintain clinical competence in wound management nursing, keeping up to date with relevant research to ensure the implementation of evidence‑based practice.
• Provide staff nurses with appropriate information and other supportive interventions to increase their knowledge, skill and confidence in managing patient condition.
• Contribute to the design, development and implementation of education programmes and resources for staff nurses in relation to wound care, thus empowering them to self‑manage the patient’s condition.
• Provide mentorship and preceptorship for nursing colleagues as appropriate.
• Participate in training programmes for nursing, MDT colleagues and key stakeholders as appropriate.
• Create exchange of learning opportunities within the MDT in relation to evidence‑based wound‑care delivery through journal clubs, conferences etc.
• Be responsible for addressing own continuing professional development needs.
• Establish and maintain a register of patients within the Clinical Nurse Specialist Wound Care service.
• Maintain a record of clinically relevant data aligned to National Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Identify, initiate and conduct nursing and MDT audit and research projects relevant to the area of practice.
• Critically analyse, disseminate and integrate best evidence relating to wound care into practice.
• Use the outcomes of audit to improve service provision.
• Contribute to service planning and budgetary processes through use of audit data and specialist knowledge.
• Monitor, access, utilise and disseminate current relevant research to advise and ensure the provision of informed evidence‑based practice.

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing from an accredited school of nursing…