By Margaret Heale, RN, MSc, CWOCN
It is important for nurses to strive toward excellence. Our patients deserve the best we are able to give, and sometimes we need to look critically at how we care and how we might improve outcomes. In theory, we update practice because we read research that indicates a change needs to be incorporated into what we do. More often, maybe we follow a colleague and like what we see, or the patient indicates a preference and we change an approach. It may be that a company representative visits and what they say makes sense, has the support of management, and we gladly (or not) incorporate a product into our practice. Looking at a standard of practice and reflecting on how we measure up require honesty and an openness that some might shy away from. Such reflective practice, combined with clinical supervision, leads to high-quality care and is an excellent method of reviewing, updating, and improving practice for patients with problems of the lower leg.