By Cheryl Carver, LPN, WCC, CWCA, DAPWCA, FACCWS

I am into my 20th year working as a wound care specialist. I must admit, I never thought much about wound management in the prison population until my son's wound care experiences during his incarcerations. I am quite transparent with this blog, and after you finish reading it, I hope you will have a different perspective on wound care in prison populations. I want to point out that this was my son's experience, which he encouraged me to share to help others. This blog is my view and does not define correctional nurses or wound care management in all prisons. I have the utmost respect for correctional nurses because I know that I could not do it. Through my son's experience, I identified various gaps in education and factors affecting quality of wound care that led to my interest in researching this area of wound care.

By Margaret Heale, RN, MSc, CWOCN

Nurses week, which took place in May, may have fallen a little flat this year, as employers were not able to gather staff and celebrate as they might otherwise have done, but the caring continues. As a group, we have been recognized as essential. In managing wounds, nurses play a vital role in supporting patients' progress toward healing, as well as prevention. It is likely our recognition will last a while, as generally nurses come out on top in polls that ask which profession is the most trusted and caring. Unfortunately, our assistant colleagues, who care just as much, don't do so well when it comes to their pay packet.

By Lauren Lazarevski RN, BSN, CWOCN

As I contemplate the current conversation around ventilators, I am encouraged to refresh my knowledge about mucosal pressure injuries. Pressure injuries on the mucous membranes present and are staged differently from cutaneous pressure ulcers, and they are usually attributed to a medical device or tube. Nasogastric or orogastric tubes, oxygen cannulas or masks, endotracheal tubes, and urinary and fecal containment devices pose a risk of causing local ischemia to tissue in the nose, mouth, genitals, or rectum, respectively. Once a mucosal injury occurs, the patient is at increased risk of other problems, including pain, infection (especially if injury occurs to the urinary tract), and even malnutrition, if pain from oral wounds makes it difficult to eat and drink. These hospital-acquired pressure injuries contribute to the physical burden on the patient, as well as the financial burden on the hospital because they do count as a nosocomial—and usually, preventable—ulcer.

By Christine Miller DPM, PhD

It is an understatement to say that these are trying and uncertain times, as we ride this unpredictable wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. All of us in wound healing as part of the greater health care force are deemed essential, so we cannot "shelter in place." As health care workers, we have to balance our duty to render care with that of protecting ourselves, a tricky tightrope balancing act. The media coverage of this pandemic is constant and anxiety producing, but it has made me ponder the term essential and what that truly means to our patients.