Hi,

I had been a nurse for 2 years on a surgical floor but wanted something different. I went to Cleveland Clinic and got the education for WOC nursing and have changed jobs to the hospital's wound clinic. There was another wound care nurse who I was supposed to work with but my first day of work she never showed up and I guess ended up quitting (I don't know why, maybe she thought I was replacing her...). So from day 1 I was on my own. I'm already a young nurse and now I'm in this new role with absolutely no one to mentor me. I've been trying my best to come up with appropriate wound treatments but now I feel like I'm making wounds worse. Do any of you guys who have done this for longer have any tips or tricks to share for just basic wound care? What did you find to help you when you first started out? Anything at all...I feel at a total loss and quite hopeless.

Thanks,

Rachel

Yes. PM me privately and hang in there.

As above, "Hang in there"! I used to train Er Nurses and always told them to look stuff up, ask the patient , ask the doctor, and gain self confidence. It is easier to ask what do you do if such and such happens and then go do that. If it was wrong advice you are the one screwed, if it is right then it was easier than looking something up and getting to know the reason for what you did. Take a minute, do it right the first time and move on. You have great sense to ask here for advice. Take into account all you get and apply to your practice. Look up what you don't know and carry on converstion with patients and sometimes they are a great help. remember the basics, in time your confidence will assist you and you will apply knowledge learned. Ask doctors or Pa, etc, on a specific case or the one youand they are working on.

I aslo have a theory:.....Theory. that is when you get a new(er) person to train the next new person and unless you have time and knowledge to build a good foundation your newre people will stay above the average line, however, when you have a newer nurse training another new nurse and she/he is below the average line still that new person will be even lower on the line. In a short time they will train another new person and thay will falll lower on the line. Way too much seen where I worked at! Glad to be gone. miss SOME of the people and don't miss others or so many people dying( God Bless all of them).

Sorry to rant but step back get your confidence jacket on and go in with anything to make the patient havea good outcome.