Wound Care Nurse

Job Description

Purpose of Position: Under supervision, and as part of the multidisciplinary team, provides care related to assessment and treatment of patients with wounds, ostomies, continence and foot wounds, as well as patient and staff education and consultation, while ensuring optimal utilization of resources, service delivery, safe patient care, and compliance with all applicable local, state, federal and NYC Health + Hospitals rules and regulations and nursing standards of care.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 1. Conducts comprehensive assessment and continuous assessment of deep wounds, skin tears, ostomies, severe burns, pressure injuries or bedsores, continence and diabetic foot wounds to determine potential wound complications, immediate treatment needs, and long-term treatment plans; works with other members of the health care team to determine if additional treatments or changes in care are required. 2. Collaborates with clinical providers and health care team to establish individualized, comprehensive plans of care for patients with complex wounds, ostomies, and/or continence conditions based on the patient risks, diagnosis and individual patient needs. Creates a plan of care for the interdisciplinary health care team, including the staff nurses, to follow. 3. Completes a thorough wound care evaluation and documents assessments and treatment recommendation. 4. Provides staff, patient and family education and counseling regarding wound care, risk factors associated with pressure injury, infection prevention, treatment measures and other related issues; provides teaching, guidance and direction to allied nursing personnel in rendering patient care. Refers other acute/chronic skin alterations to appropriate specialty services (i.e., Surgery, Vascular, Podiatry, Dermatology, Plastic). 5. Develops and implements wound and skin care prevention, and treatment programs, and provides corresponding education to patients, family members/caregivers, and health care setting and allied personnel; evaluates and monitors effectiveness of programs to ensure successful functioning and efficiency. 6. Participates in product evaluation for ostomy and skin care needs for the health care setting to ensure costeffective quality patient care. 7. Participates in the development, evaluation and revision of health care setting policies, procedures, and guidelines related to wound care, based on patient needs, evidenced-based trends, and industry standards. 8. Collaborates with appropriate staff to establish protocols, which support best practices to achieve optimal clinical outcomes. Serves as a clinical expert to provide staff nurses with wound treatment protocols and assists in the education of staff nurses on how to stage wounds. 9. Observes, records, and interprets patient response and wound status, reporting any changes to appropriate members of the health care team; records and maintains nursing care plans and progress notes on patients. 10. Participates in departmental and interdisciplinary conferences, nursing quality committee, and/or quality improvement initiatives relating to wound, ostomy and continence issues. 11. Manages the collection and analysis of all data related to Hospital Acquired Pressure Injuries. Utilizes quality measures of pressure injuries and standards to mitigate risk and drive improvement efforts in the performance of nursing care. 12. If assigned to Community Care, maintains ongoing follow-up evaluation for patients after discharge from the health care setting to provide continuity of care. 13. Performs other professional nursing activities as delegated by nursing service administration.

Minimum Qualifications

1. Valid license and current registration to practice as a Registered Professional Nurse issued by the New York State Education Department (NYSED); and

2. Current certification in one of the following:

• Certified Wound Ostomy Continence Nurse (CWOCN) issued by the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board (WOCNCB); or

• Certified Wound Ostomy Nurse (CWON) issued by the WOCNCB; or

• Certified Wound Care Nurse (CWCN) issued by the (WOCNCB); or

• Certified Wound Specialist (CWS) issued by the American Board of Wound Management (ABWM); or

• Wound Care Certified Certification (WCC) issued by the National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy (NAWCO).

3. Holds or obtains a valid and current certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) through the American Heart Association (AHA).

Benefits

In addition to experience/longevity and education differentials, Wound Care Nurses are also eligible to receive up to $10,000 in additional annual pay for holding certain wound, ostomy, and/or continence certifications.