Karen Zulkowski
DNS, RN, CWS
Dr. Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS, obtained her doctorate from the State University of NY at Buffalo. She has been involved in research, teaching, and hands-on wound care for many years. She has served as a Research Consultant with Billings Clinic Center on Aging, and was the Associate Director for Yale University’s Program for the Advancement of Chronic Wound Care. She is a past board member of the NPUAP and was co-chair of the evidence-based wound dressing section for the international treatment guidelines. Karen is an Associate Professor with Montana State University-Bozeman, teaches an online wound course for Excelsior College, and is a consultant for Mountain Pacific Quality Improvement Organization. She lives in Luther, MT with her husband, four dogs, three horses and four cats. She also owns Pizano’s Pizza in Red Lodge MT, where you can find her cooking on weekends.
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
Back in 2012, I blogged about glove change and hand washing during dressing change frequency and hand washing during dressing changes. Your comments were very informative. It is sad that facilities are being cited for not changing gloves, and...
by Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
There are several issues in pressure ulcer definitions. For example, exactly what is the definition for eschar? What is an unavoidable pressure ulcer? How can you decide it really was unavoidable?
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
I previously discussed the need for a complete head-to-toe skin assessment. Certainly this can tell you whether or not the person is dehydrated, has open or discolored areas, and many other things about their overall health. Color, for example, can...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
Looking at a person's skin from head to toe is an important nursing function. Certainly nurses document this on the patient's admission, but not so much thereafter. Often the CNA is the first person to notice a problem. Yet there may not be good...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
In my last blog, I talked about cultural beliefs affecting care. But there are geographic differences in North America that do also; for example, temperature. Temperature as a concept in the...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
All medical personnel strive to provide care based on the strongest available evidence. Yet how many of us provide culturally competent care? Culturally competent care is defined as having specific cognitive and effective skills that are essential...
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...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
Documenting wounds is always problematic for staff. It is important that wounds be assessed consistently both for measurement and characteristics. The use of pictures is also controversial. Pictures can help or hurt you if you are sued. However,...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
Part 3 in a series on Pressure Ulcer Knowledge
For Part 1, Click here
For Part 2,...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
Part 2 in a series on Pressure Ulcer Knowledge
For Part 1, Click here
I have used the Pieper Pressure Ulcer Knowledge...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
How many of you know how knowledgeable you are about wounds? Keeping up with the latest articles and treatments is difficult. This is especially true for a staff nurse that only encounters patient wounds occasionally. Larger facilities and home...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
Five million US rural residents live in designated provider shortage areas. A provider shortage area is defined by the federal government as counties with fewer than 33 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents. It is believed this shortage...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
Taking a positive approach when a pressure ulcer develops at your health care facility usually isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. However, it should be. When a patient develops a pressure ulcer the first thing that usually happens is the...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
Last month I talked about the issues that occurred during my husband’s knee surgery. This month I want to bring the focus back to lawsuits and how they arise....
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
The past few months I have written about legal cases and...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
As health care professionals we always want to heal our patients and make them better. This may not always be possible. We need to understand that not letting the...
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
Part 4 in a series discussing the process of litigation in patient care lawsuits
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
How do you act when giving a deposition? It’s not something we covered in school. As I said last month, you probably won’t remember the plaintiff (patient). You may have only taken care of the person once or twice or when they were your patient....
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
Being involved in a lawsuit is never fun. However, if your facility is sued because a patient developed a pressure ulcer, you may have to testify. Pressure ulcers are the second most...
Part 1 in a series discussing the process of litigation in patient care lawsuits
By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS
Hopefully none of you will be involved in a lawsuit over patient care. However, pressure ulcers are the second most common lawsuit (wrongful...