Patient Education

By Robert Striks, Special Writer, Encompass HealthCare & Wound Medicine There's a funny scene in the Marx Brothers movie, "Horse Feathers," where Chico tells Harpo how to escape from the room they are locked inside by using a rope. Chico instructs Harpo to tie one end of the rope to the bed and then throw the other end of the rope out the window. "Tie on the bed, throw the rope out the window," he repeats. Haplessly, Harpo takes the tie he was wearing around his neck, places it on the bed and then throws the entire escape rope out the window.

By Paula Erwin-Toth MSN, RN, CWOCN, CNS, FAAN January is the month for committing to new goals and resolutions for the year ahead. Several years ago I made a New Year's resolution to stop making New Year's resolutions. Like most New Year's resolutions I have not had much success in keeping it. Therefore I am sharing a few resolutions.

by Lydia A Meyers RN, MSN, CWCN At the start of December, I was looking at graduation from my Master's Degree program and the completion of my final paper. A capstone to the Master's program is much like the dissertation to the doctoral program. My journey has been long and along the way I have increased my base of knowledge. What I have learned on this journey will enhance my practical knowledge of wound care and patient care. I learned that health care must change, and we must look hard at how we are doing business and be willing to challenge the status quo. Health care needs highly knowledgeable leaders to assure patients receive quality care by being good stewards of the money given to promote that care. The provider must be educated to assure the patient's wishes are followed first and always.

By Cheryl Carver, LPN, WCC, CWCA, DAPWCA, FACCWS Worldwide Pressure Ulcer/Injury Prevention & Awareness Day is November 21st. This day is considered pretty much a holiday at my home. I have Stop Pressure Ulcer tee shirts, and I order a cake or STOP sign cookies every year from the bakery in memory of my mother. To some it might sound crazy, but my life was strongly impacted forever in 1996 after my mother passed away in my arms at only 47 years old because of complications of diabetes and what was called at that time "multiple decubitus." The image and smell will never leave my mind. It changed my life forever as a daughter, a caregiver, and later as a wound nurse. I needed more answers to heal my heart. How could my mother acquire such horrible wounds while at the hospital to get better? My mind was twirling nonstop with the 5Ws. Who, what, when, where, why? So, then it began. I wanted to learn everything I could. This ended up being sort of my therapy, which transitioned into my passion and purpose.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the greatest health threats of the 21st century. The current number of deaths attributed to drug-resistant infections is 700,000, yet this figure is expected to grow more than 10-fold by 2050. Although the rapid administration of antibiotics to treat infections often reduces morbidity and saves the lives of many patients each year, it has also been shown that up to 40% of all antibiotics prescribed are either unnecessary or inappropriate, which contributes to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.

Communication issues have arisen in the wound care world while providing care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Many of our older adult patients may already have hearing issues and rely on reading lips, which is impossible with the recent advent of masking and face shields. In addition to the masks, it is often difficult for patients to differentiate who is who when we are all in full protective gear. How can we make communicating with our patients less difficult during these trying times? Here are a few suggestions:

By Lindsay D. Andronaco RN, BSN, CWCN, WOC, DAPWCA, FAACWS Many people do not realize that the two most common issues we see in hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy patients are ear/barotraumas and a decrease in their blood glucose level. In general, HBO is very well tolerated and requires little other than a commitment to the treatment series.

By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS I have talked about treating wounds, assessing wounds and care planning, but have not discussed the patient as a person. I always talk to the patient and family about options for care, how aggressive they want to be in their treatment plan and explain to them what I am doing and why I am doing it. The importance of this communication process is one of the reasons why I got involved in the Wound App project. I realized rural facilities don’t have wound expertise available and additional testing may mean many miles of travel. The consultation plan calls for patient/family involvement. But the communication with the patient and family is important regardless of how or where you are doing wound care.