Jeanniejayne

As a stroke survivor (TIA in 1995), I read your article with much interest. In my experience, any time an expert nurse is involved in a dedicated unit the quality of care increases exponentially. Best wishes in your continued success in your career.

Loved your article! IMHO, you get extra work because you are super competent and your boss knows it. I worked for 12 years in home care and outpatient mostly as a WOC Nurse, and would give my personal number to some patients. I believed it actually saved me work in the long run when I could easily help over the phone rather than the patient not calling because they would get a call or visit from an unfamiliar on-call nurse. I had many poor and sometimes uneducated patients and giving them my number was maybe the one thing that made them feel special and cared for. I never regretted it once. Bravo for your love of nursing and advocacy. You are a great credit to us all!

Hi Prettynurse, Can you tell us a bit more about this patient? What type of wound is it? Was it post-op? Is it possible it is a fistula? What condition is the patient in? Good health? Diabetic? Anemic? Age? Thin? Overweight? Active? Who is physician ordering care? How long has this patient had the wound? And please describe it: where it is, type, what the tissue looks like, smell, exudate type and amount, depth of wound, associated pain, what does periwound area look like? Has it been cultured for infection. All of these factor in when choosing a dressing. Hang in there!