Monday, January 11, 2010

Dressings! Wounds! And more dressings...


So far my community health experience has consisted mostly of dressing changes and wound assessment. I've seen multiple pressure ulcers, wounds secondary to vaculitis, post-op surgical wounds, wounds that are necrotic, wounds that will likely cause sepsis, wounds that are healing, tunneling, macerated...you name it. I am trying to learn all about different dressings, but there are so many! I am told that it gets easier with practice. We'll see.

Making home visits is a completely different kind of nursing than in the hospital. You are essentially a guest of the client's home, unlike at the hospital, where patients feel more like guests. You have to deal with messy houses, pets, and driving in snowy weather. We don't use dressing trays and use sterile gloves instead, so being dexterous and sterile is a bit of a challenge. But so far I am having a great experience!

Would love to hear from you!!

2 comments:

  1. Sounds fun! Let me know when you do a maggot poultice...

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  2. glad your learning alot...one of my dressing changes a pt toe fell off...had to be the most gruesome i have seen..sheesh

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