Crazy for wounds...

pnkgirl25 · Apr 17, 2013

Mods...can I get this moved to the wound section? Thanks...I posted in the wrong section.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Apr 18, 2013

Thread moved to wound care in specialty nursing section as requested.

redhead_NURSE98!, ADN, BSN · Apr 19, 2013

Okay everyone in my class thinks I'm insane, but I LOVE wounds...I mean I get excited at the thought of changing a dressing...can't wait to see what's under all that gauze...
Anyone know what speciality see's the most wounds? Someone said I should look into post-op (but I'm thinking most of the people there are only there short term, no real dressing changes..maybe I'm wrong), someone also said look into dermatology (but i'm thinking this is mostly pimples??...someone also mentioned ortho (No idea why they suggested this one? Any ideas?

Med surg. Pressure ulcers, surgical wounds that are nice looking and not-so-nice looking, amputations, wound vacs, drains, etc. etc. I work on a floor that's primarily GI and we get them all day long.

katielea · Apr 19, 2013

Do you guys not have wound care nurses? Maybe it's a Canadian thing. Some hospitals around here have an RN (or more than one!) who specifically works with folks with complex (read: terrible) wounds. They do assessment and care planning and write up protocols for bedside nurses to help them out. Sounds like an incredibly interesting job!

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Apr 19, 2013

Everyone in your class would be correct, but us normal folks are glad to have colleagues who like that stuff. :)

PalmHarborMom · Apr 19, 2013

Many hospitals have wound care clinics either in the hospital or in an adjacent building. My husband went to one after a MRSA infection. They see the wounds that other doctors can't seem to get under control or the wound is extensive. They tend to use many of the newest medicines and techniques in healing wounds. Hyperbaric chambers are also often used. Waiting for appointments, I often talked to other patients and they had quite the diverse array of wounds. Everything from infection, surgical, radiation, pressure and trauma wounds. As bad as it was for my hubby, it is what made me realize my interest in nursing.

And FYI... the outstanding treatment that he received there saved his leg after an extensive debridement. Wound care nurses ROCK!

jmll1765, ASN, RN · Apr 19, 2013

Med-surg or wound care. I work in med-surg and we see some doozies! Dressing changes that take an hour and leave you soaked in sweat..all shapes and sizes. We had one gentleman that had a pressure ucler on his bottom that looked like a shark bite. We usually have at least one wound care patient on our floor at all times.

Vespertinas · Apr 19, 2013

A hospital I worked at had something that amounted to a long term critical care unit. It was mostly a catch-all for, like, surgical patients who ended up not-so-good. The surgeons had so many ORs scheduled that they NEEDED beds available on their respective ICUs so... stragglers were shipped away. In my opinion, this floor was more complicated than the most elite Cardiothoracic surgical drive-thru ICU in the nation. What I'm getting at is... man, some of the WOUNDS on those people!

But clearly mah dear, you are destined for a WOUND CARE certification. All day you would round the hospital, make assessments and recommendations, manage complex wounds, stay abreast of the latest systems and treatments, and educate patients and staff. I really hope you look into it. The job seems very satisfying for those who are interested. You're not guaranteed to get wounds like you're hoping for on just any m/s unit.

missej2002 · Apr 19, 2013

Wound care nurse is where you want to be if this is your passion. Most hospitals have them you work with pt in the hospital and pts that are doing out pt care. This is a specialty, and a growing field with diabetic wounds, more pt's are bedridden and have wounds, etc. You learn about wound vacs, hyperbaric wound care, different dressing and creams, stages and etc,

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Apr 19, 2013

Check out our FAQ at bottom of forum: Wound Care Certification and Education Programs

dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN · Apr 19, 2013

We do a lot of wound care on burn-- burns plus we get all the big crater sized pressure ulcers, mysterious derm cases, and we often get consulted out to do big dressing changes that the other units / wound care nurses don't have time to do.