The Nurses Role in Wound Care in the Community Essay

The Nurses Role in Wound Care in the Community - Essay Example Community-based leg ulcer clinics have shown to be very effective; however, there is a need to adopt a well-organised leg ulcer aftercare delivery to reduce the recurrence of leg ulceration and improve the quality of life. Research also revealed that there are significant lacunae with respect to nurse’s knowledge of the principles and practice of wound care. The strategies to improve nurse’s knowledge and future developments in wound care are discussed. The dissertation concludes with recommendations that more high quality clinical research trials be conducted in the future to assess the efficacy of various dressings and adopting the NICE guidelines and the TELER system. Recommendations are also made to conduct a comprehensive education program for nurses at all levels of training and practice. A wound care certification program and an online distance-learning package for acute and chronic wounds for nurses are also recommended. Over the past few decades, the protocols in wound management has changed and evolved rapidly. There has been a shift from dry to moist healing and an increasing trend in the use of modern dressings. Wound management alone leads to a massive drain on health care resources. Diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, and pressure sores are frequently encountered clinical conditions and many of these conditions are chronic, leading to repeat visits. There has therefore, been an emphasis on proper wound care and the search for an ideal dressing continues to this day. The aim of this dissertation is to review the literature related to wound care regarding the principles and practice of wound care, methods of wound evaluation and the role that nurses play in wound care management in the community. Both electronic database search and manual search was made for literature related to wound care. Electronic database search included PUBMED and MEDLINE searches. The keywords used included â€Å"wound care,† â€Å"wound