Wound/TX Nurse

BrandonLPN, LPN · Oct 9, 2013

You don't have to be certified to be a tx nurse. The tx nurses where I work are LPNs and I'm pretty sure they're not certified. (it's a certification both LPNs and RNs can hold)

Hopefully you'll be orienting with the previous wound nurse who will help you become familiar with assessing wounds and with all the wound care products your facility uses. You can always peruse certification if you want to for your own edification, but I don't see why it would be necessary to do the job.

CapeCodMermaid, RN · Oct 10, 2013

I was the wound nurse (as well as many other things) in several facilities and I am not certified. Can you accurately measure and describe what you see? Can you follow directions? That's really all you need to be able to do.

bluegeegoo2, LPN · Oct 11, 2013

I am the ADON at a facility as well as tx nurse for pressure areas. I have to write a report weekly to send to corporate on the state of our wounds and a plethora of other info. (Such as measurements, diet, supplements, equipment such as air mattress or not, complete description of wounds, etc.) I am not certified. As CCM stated, if you can measure, describe what you see, you'll be fine.

CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2013

Does your facility use a certain brand / company? They will be an excellent resource and should be able to provide you with some education. I agree with above, you don't need to be certified to be a wound/ treatment nurse.

It will come to you.

LaRN · Oct 15, 2013

You may not NEED to be wound care certified, but you do need to know an awful lot about wound care, the basics of wound healing and problems that can occur and how to remedy them, also what type of dressings to use, and most importantly what NOT to use, how to properly clean a wound, what type of cleanser to use, or use normal saline, need to know how to apply ointments (some require normal saline to activate them) also, how to manage wounds in patients who are totally incontinent. its not always as simple as applying an occlusive dressing, b/c occlusive dressings are not to be used on some wounds, they need a breathable type drsg. knowing when to give up on a certain treatment and move on to something else is a must. important to know how wounds typically react to some treatments (some appear to get deeper in the beginning of a treatment, but this can be normal). the nurse also needs to be knowledgeable about reducing pressure and avoiding the sheer factor, and how to safely remove a dressing without pulling the hide off (happens all the time). she needs to be a strong leader and be able to teach staff the importance of pressure wound prevention. what products can be used to help dressings adhere without damaging the skin. how to effectively debride wounds and know what actually needs to be debrided. needs to know how to stage wounds correctly, know what is and what is NOT a pressure ulcer, know what is exoriation. know how to investigate to determine what exactly caused the wound and how to prevent this from recurring.

most md's are not up on the current and most effective wound care treatments, (many are still prescribing wet to dry dressings which have a very limited use! :scrying: ). Most of the time, it is the wound care nurse who recommends the type of treatment or at least knows what pertinent information to give the md in order for him to make the right decision.

I've seen nearly all of the wounds in a facility go completely south due to them using a nurse that was not competent in managing wounds.