Lymphedema Specialist-?

[Nurse Bulldog]

Your expertise is requested.

BACKGROUND:

1. I am a home health nurse with 3 years of of home health experince. My other 20 yrs of nursing experinces have been ER and CCU.

2. I have an associate's nursing degree.

3. 59 yrs old.

4. Goal is to increase my marketabilty and longevity in nursing.

5. My employer has offered to train me as a lymphedema specialist.

QUESTION:

1. What do lymphedema specialist really do-? (The good and bad)

2. Where do Lymphedema Specialist work-?

2. Does this speciality provide increase marketability and /or longevity in nursing-?

Thank you for your input

[jbudrick, MSN]

Hello Nurse Bulldog:

Your question about Lymphedema Specialist has come up at the home care agency I work for. Keep in mind that my experience may not be typical of your agency or area of the country. Usually OTs are employed at Lymphedema Clinics. The problem is that if the patient has a wound, they want nursing to do the wound care. Patient's have difficulty getting to the lymphedema clinic, getting wound care done by the visiting nurse, and removing wraps that are applied at the clinic. Most of the wound nurses in my agency are not interested in doing Lymphedema in the home for several reasons. The home environment of many lymphedema patients makes the thought of spending a long visit unpleasant due to potentially unsanitary conditions. How and where will the patient be positioned while wraps are being applied? Who will perform showering and hygiene for the patient? Unfortunately, the biggest barrier to Lymphedema in my agency is patient nonadherence to the program even under the best of circumstances. Hope this offers some insight into this new angle to home care nursing. Best wishes.

Jbudrick