Provides specialized, advanced primary care for patients with alterations in skin integrity. Duties include, but are not limited to, educating patients and professionals, counseling patients and families, participating in research and patient advocacy.
Evaluates the quality and effectiveness of advanced wound care.
Develops and implements a comprehensive plan for assessing and improving the quality of care and satisfaction of wound patients.
Continually assesses and evaluates the care delivery system using quality improvement principles and practices.
Plans, implements, and documents health teaching with patients and/or significant others.
Documents on the patient record, the health teaching planned and implemented with the patient and/or significant other.
Ensures open and timely communication with wound patients, significant others, and other health care providers through professional collaboration.
Demonstrates open communication with patients and significant others.
Participates in community education related to wound care.
Utilizes education of the patient and significant other to optimize patient outcomes.
Functions as a facilitator, liaison, and patient advocate among health care providers and health care agencies.
Reports patient status and refers problems as necessary, to prevent or minimize adverse or less than optimal outcomes.
Documents care thoroughly using computerized data collection. Performs accurate photography of wounds and includes photos in monthly patient status reports.
Collaborates with other health care providers to deliver patient-centered care in a manner consistent with safe efficient and cost-effective resource utilization.
Collaborates with physician to confer medical and nursing plans and advises physicians on topical treatment modalities for wounds.
Performs and documents patient consultations in hospital. During consults teaches patients, staff, and physicians, without hesitation using diplomacy and communication skills.
Provides input on budget issues affecting efficient care delivery, judicious use of products, and staffing patterns. Monitors the budget as developed.
Initiates accurate and ongoing assessment of physical, psychological problems of patients within the wound care department.
Performs pertinent collection of data utilizing systematic review about the health status of every patient.
Assesses each patient every visit and determines priority of care based on physical, psychological, and social needs.
A detailed systemic collection of data relevant to each patient’s wound, age, comorbidities, barriers to healing, and social situation is conducted to obtain sufficient information to determine patient acuity and any immediate physical, psychological, or social needs.
Information gathered in the assessment phase is analyzed to determine the severity of physical, psychological, social, and educational needs. Assessment is altered as it relates to age-specific needs of neonate, pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric populations.
Individualized expected outcomes are identified for each patient.
The urgency of physical, psychological, social, and educational needs is determined, and the course of action is formulated to attain expected outcomes.
Interventions are implemented as identified in the WRD algorithms of care.
Possesses knowledge and understanding of assessment and use of equipment, and interventions such as TCPO2, Laser Doppler, Ankle Brachial Indices, Specialty Chair Beds, Compression Wraps, Offloading Devices, etc.
The patient’s response to the intervention is evaluated, and plan of care revised accordingly.
Analyzes assessment data to formulate nursing diagnoses and identifies collaborative problems for each patient at every visit.
The WRD nurse identifies the actual and high-risk health problems or diagnoses based on pertinent data collected in the focused assessment.
Identified expected outcomes individualized to the wound patient based on the assessment nursing diagnoses, and/or collaborative problems.
Physical, psychological, and emotional outcomes are identified for each patient as appropriate.
Formulates a plan of care for the wound patient based on the assessment, nursing diagnoses and/or collaborative problems, and outcome identification. Utilizes the WRD algorithms of care.
The plan of care for the WRD patient is systematic and consistent with safe, effective patient care.
Implements a plan of care based on assessment, nursing diagnoses and/or other collaborative problems, and outcome identification.
Interventions are based on priority of patient need and consideration of significant others.
Evaluates and modifies the plan of care based on observable patient responses and attainment of expected outcomes.
The patient’s response to interventions is continually evaluated to determine progress towards expected outcomes.
Assists physicians with patient rounds, procedures, exams.
Provides appropriate and timely assistance to physicians.
Administers medications according to hospital policy and procedure.
Observed administering and documenting medications according to hospital procedure.
Assesses IV and PICC sites. Documents appropriately on patient’s record.
Adheres to established standards of practice including activities and behavior that characterize professional status.
Accountable for his/her actions.
Participates in clinical and peer review to evaluate practice.
Recognizes and reports findings that are outside the normal range for pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients and appropriately reports findings.
Utilizes appropriate hand out materials as reinforcement for the caregiver and pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients.
Demonstrates the ability to provide specific dietary considerations for the pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients and makes appropriate dietary referrals when indicated.
Strength: Medium Work - Lifting, Carrying, Pushing, Pulling 20 - 50 Lbs. occasionally, 10 - 25 Lbs. frequently or up to 10 Lbs. constantly.
Stooping: Occasionally - Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist, requiring full use of the lower extremities and back muscles.
Reaching: Frequently - Extending hand(s) or arm(s) in any direction.
Handling: Frequently - Seizing, holding, grasping, turning, or otherwise working with hand or hands. Fingers are involved only to the extent that they are an extension of the hand, such as to turn a switch or shift automobile gears.
Fingering: Frequently - Picking, pinching, or otherwise working primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand or arm as in handling.
Feeling: Frequently - Noting attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature, or texture, by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips.
Talking: Frequently - Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word to impart oral information to clients or to the public and to convey detailed spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
Hearing: Frequently - Perceiving the nature of sounds by ear.
Near Acuity: Frequently - Clarity of vision at 20 inches or less.
Accommodation: Occasionally - Adjustment of lens of eye to bring an object into sharp focus. This factor is required when doing near point work at varying distances from the eye.
Color Vision: Frequently - Ability to identify and distinguish colors.
Ability to make frequent rounds, lift patients, position patients, and transport patients to provide treatment and to maintain patient comfort.
Professional knowledge of nursing theory and practice at a level normally acquired through completion of an accredited School of Nursing. Current BLS Healthcare Provider card required. Minimum of 2-3 years’ experience with direct hands on care of patients required.
Wound Specialist Certification required or commitment to acquire certification within two years of employment.
Current State Nursing License.
Communication skills necessary to effectively:
Provide instructions to the patient and/or significant other
Provide explanations to the patient and/or significant other
Explain nursing interventions
Communicate with other members of the health care team
Analytical skills necessary to develop and implement a plan for nursing care appropriate to the patient, and to solve problems concerning patient’s mental or physical well being.
Ability to concentrate and prioritize, plan and perform professional nursing care, resolve patient care problems, and interact with patients, families, and other team members often during stressful situations.
The wound recovery Department nurse utilizes the nursing process as a framework for practice. In caring for a wound patient the nurse will collect data identify and determine the priority of the patient’s problems/needs, formulate a nursing plan of care and evaluate the interventions for nursing care.
The Wound Recovery Department nurse will develop and maintain a level of educational background in the following areas, but not limited to, the care of the wound patient, neurological patient, cardiovascular patient, pulmonary patient, disorders of the GI system patient, general medical system disorder patient.
Normal patient care environment with little exposure to excessive noised, dust, and temperate changes. A large part of work time is standing or walking.
Subject to certain distasteful patient care activities an exposure to communicable diseases.
Maybe scheduled overtime, On-call as required.
May be exposed to potential hazards such as chemical wastes, body wastes, fluids, and other possible infectious material.
MMC commits to review, under the intent of this standard, and in coordination with medical professional opinion’s and physical demands job analysis performed by certified professionals, an individual’s ability to be reasonably accommodated within the role they are responsible and qualified to perform.
MMC is committed to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and providing equal opportunity employment for qualified persons with disabilities. All employment practices and activities are conducted on a nondiscriminatory basis. Meadville Medical Center will follow any state or local law that provides individuals with disabilities greater protection that the ADA.
Every effort has been made to make your job description as complete as possible. However, this in no way states or implies that these are the only duties you will be required to perform. The omission of specific tasks does not exclude them from the position if the task is similar, related, or is a logical assignment to the position, or is imperative for patient care and to meet emergency situations.
Meadville Medical Center is an outstanding community hospital located in Meadville, Pennsylvania. The hospital continually works to meet the community's needs by maintaining up-to-date and state-of-the-art facilities. We are a leader in healthcare in Northwest Pennsylvania, with the newest technology, including the latest generation of ultrasound, CT and MRI technology. Our medical staff of more than 100 consists of 37 medical/surgical specialties, with an extensive primary care foundation.
With a service area covering 75,000 individuals in Crawford County as well as an additional 150,000 persons from northwestern Pennsylvania, the Meadville Medical Center has annual inpatient admissions of approximately 7,617 and more than 215,742 outpatient visits. The Emergency Department alone reports 37,690 visits yearly and approximately 650 babies are born here each year.
Meadville Medical Center Mission Statement:
Your independent community health system is dedicated to providing high quality, innovative and affordable healthcare for the wellbeing of our community.
Meadville Medical Center Vision Statement:
Our vision is to continually exceed the expectations of those we serve by working together as a team, dedicated to a process of never-ending improvements.
