margo533

Latest Activity

1. Which is the best wound certification

   margo533 replied to bettylove's topic in Wound

   You really need to go on to a RN program, Betty. Wound care isn't just changing dressings, it's assessing the wound AND the contributing factors, the patient's ability to manage their care and their support system for this--and then develping a trea...

2. Steps of a wet to dry dressing

   margo533 replied to oxyjen's topic in Wound

   For a clean surgical wound, you want the wound bed to remain moist (not wet); if it dries out, it's not going to heal. Wet-to-dry drsgs mean just that--moist gauze that's allowed to dry out so that when it's removed, it takes the non-viable tissue wi...

3. wcc vs. wocn

   margo533 replied to Emmjay's topic in Wound

   Good for you, chrissylou! I'm more than happy for anyone to bounce ideas & questions off me. My one great message is that a wound is just a part of a whole person; all that person's physical characteristics, personal cognition, and his/her social...

4. wcc vs. wocn

   margo533 replied to Emmjay's topic in Wound

   Emmjay, your professional background sounds excellent to proceed. Chrissy Lou, I know, I agree, the WOCN route is difficult, and I certainly agree, we need many more nurses knowledgable in wound care to care for our patients. Perhaps I'm too much of ...

5. wound descriptions

   margo533 replied to nursesaurus's topic in Wound

   Slough tissue is that white-ish (or grey-ish) looking glunk you see adhering to an otherwise pink-to-red wound bed. After a week with a transparent dressing over eschar, you'll see it connecting the eschar to the (hopefully) granulating wound bed. I...

6. Wound won't heal despite interventions

   margo533 replied to PsychNurseWannaBe's topic in Wound

   If the patient's nutritional status isn't adequate for healing, it is not going to heal. Period. Nutrition is that important. Don't beat yourself up, the "host" has to support healing, or it's not going to heal. --margo533, CWOCN since 1995

7. Steps of a wet to dry dressing

   margo533 replied to oxyjen's topic in Wound

   OMG, is this still going on??? I've been retired since 2008, and the wet to dry was being contested even when I went back to school and became a CWOCN in 1995! NO, NO, NO, NO--- NO WET TO DRY DRESSINGS!! This has been emperically validated time aft...

8. use of liquid adhesive with wound vac drape?

   margo533 replied to Chris81's topic in Wound

   Sorry to see I've discovered this forum until now, so my post will not be pertinent to that specific patient. However, the use of liquid adhesives is probably universal with experienced VAC practitioners. --margo533, CWOCN since 1995

9. Lance a wound

   margo533 replied to bioniclewoman's topic in Wound

   Physicians have no concept of what allowed nursing practice is--yes, really! The physician must do this unless your personal/professional credentials along with your State board of nursing AND your employer's policy allows you to do this--even thoug...

10. Wound care nurse salary range

    margo533 replied to nukefx007's topic in Wound

    I retired two yrs ago, but had been a CWOCN since 1995. At my last position as a CWOCN at a community hospital in the Portland OR area, I was making $38+/hr. Keep in mind, wages/salaries are higher on both coasts than in the "heartland".

11. wound care certification ?

    margo533 replied to woundsrfun's topic in Wound

    I've been a CWOCN since 1995, and while ostomies constituted only about 25% of my practice, I found that overall, that has given me the greatest professional satisfaction as far as making a really huge and positive difference in my patients' lives, a...

12. wcc vs. wocn

    margo533 replied to Emmjay's topic in Wound

    Certification through WOCN educational endeavor is the Gold Standard. Period. But please consider: before doing ANY specialty course work, you first need to become an expert nursing generalist, which will require at least five years of med-surg staf...

13. WOCN or ET Nurses Questions

    margo533 replied to lighthouseRN's topic in Wound

    You definitely need at least five years of med-surg practice before going for certification. This is because the CWON must consider age, prognosis, cognition, ALL body systems, comorbidities, nutritional & immune stutus, medications, psycho-soci...

14. Do you need to soak calcium alginate rope for packing?

    margo533 replied to Neener_RNBSN's topic in Wound

    The whole point of a CA alginate dressing is absorption greater than gauze packing, so NO, don't moisten the alginate. Margo533, CWOCN

15. Black heals, debride or dry dressing?

    margo533 replied to JenniferSews's topic in Wound

    This is why certified wound specialists are needed. You need to look at the bigger picture: what's the patient's over-all condition and prognosis? The plan depends completely on that. For example, if this is am acutely terminal patient, I'd put on...