In the works

Hi everyone,

I know it has been a while since I have posted anything, but I am currently working on a picture to differentiate between the treatments for an arterial ulcer and a venous ulcer. I just finished the arterial ulcer picture, and am working on the venous ulcer one. Venous ulcers, I find, are more complex, as there are a number of complications that may occur. With an arterial ulcer, it seems that the only intervention that had profound effects is to have vascular surgery.

REMEMBER: NO COMPRESSION FOR AN ARTERIAL ULCER

Links to knowledge

Hi guys,

Thought I would post some really useful websites or both health care professionals and family care givers.

CAWC- Canadian Association of Wound Care (which is where the IIWC course came from)

CAWC

This next link is quite interesting, as it relates to my selective. It is an article about the prevention of pressure ulcers in health care institutions and interventions that is effective.
AHRQ Pressure Ulcer Prevention Article
Along with that, they have developed a tool that can be implemented in institutions.
AHRQ prevent pressure ulcer toolkit

This article is from CCAC regarding the result of best practice in wound care.
CCAC best practice and outcome

I will be adding to this list, and put this in the resource tab on the top for future reference.

Put a bandaid on it

Working on the unit, I found that a lot of the time, lesions are “misdiagnosed”. Sometimes we mistaken moisture lesions or irritation as a stage one pressure ulcer. However, wounds are not so simple! I think the main reason why the pressure ulcer rates have been on the rise is because a lot of the time we document a pressure ulcer, when really, it’s something else. And it’s CRITICAL because the plan of care can vary so much. It can be as simple as removing and using a different dressing to finding a new mattress to use. Coders (people who document how many pressure ulcers are developed in the institution and send these reports to the Government) would not be able to distinguish if the lesion was a pressure ulcer vs. a moisture lesion. It’s important to note that the first thing when treating the lesion is to treat the cause. Without treating the cause would be like… fixing a leaky roof with a bucket. The problem is still there and we’re only fixing the result.

So here’s something that might help with distinguishing the difference. I’ll also put this in my enabler section.

Salutations!

My name is Kimberley Chan. I am a registered nurse and a graduate of the International Interprofessional Wound Care course. Just finishing my second residential week, I am extremely excited about the start of my journey. I thought it would be awesome if everyone knew about wound care and became passionate about it!
Being a novice nurse, I would say this blog is more of an archive of my knowledge of wound care, my opinion, my interpretation and my way of thinking. Everything on this site is more of a guidance, and I strongly recommend getting properly diagnosed by your physician or health care provider.
Being a novice nurse can have it's pros and cons. Cons: I am willing to admit I lack experience, however, I am also willing to learn. Pros, I am a blank canvas. They say it's very hard to break or change a habit. Well, being a novice nurse, I really don't have any habits to break, and that being said, every effort is being made to get it right from the start.
My goal with this blog would to assist both health care providers, clients, and clients' families with understanding wounds.
My thoughts will probably change 10 years from now, so it'd be interesting to document that.

Well...here goes!