Karen Zulkowski

Content from this Writer

June 13th, 2014

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...

March 18th, 2014

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?

Skin Conditions
January 15th, 2014

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...

November 13th, 2013

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...

September 15th, 2013

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...

July 17th, 2013

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...

May 28th, 2013

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...

April 9th, 2013

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,...

February 27th, 2013

By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS

Part 3 in a series on Pressure Ulcer Knowledge
For Part 1, Click here
For Part 2,...

February 5th, 2013

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...

December 27th, 2012

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...

October 12th, 2012

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...

August 23rd, 2012

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...

June 15th, 2012

By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS

May 14th, 2012

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....

April 17th, 2012

By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS

The past few months I have written about legal cases and...

February 22nd, 2012

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...

January 13th, 2012

By Karen Zulkowski DNS, RN, CWS

Part 4 in a series discussing the process of litigation in patient care lawsuits

Click here for Part 1
...

December 19th, 2011

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....

November 22nd, 2011

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...

October 17th, 2011

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...