RN Wound Care in Cherokee, North Carolina at Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority

Primary Function

The Wound Care Nurse responsible for coordinating the Wound Care Prevention and Treatment program within Tsali Care Center. This includes, but is not limited to, preventative foot and nail care of diabetic patients, complex wound care, continence care, and ostomies. All Wound Care treatments and preventative measures will be in accordance with physician orders, facility policies, and regulatory compliance.

The Wound Care Nurse provides oversight to other Nursing personnel within the Tsali Nursing service line performing wound, ostomy, nail care, preventative interventions, or other clinical treatments related to the integumentary system. The Wound Care Nurse initiates, evaluates and revises plans of care for all wound and preventative care that reflects a multidisciplinary, culturally sensitive approach to patient care.

Job Description

A Wound, Ostomy, and Continence (WOC) Nurse is a specialized Registered Nurse (RN) who assesses, treats, and manages patients with complex wounds, stomas (ostomies), and continence issues. They provide expert care, education, and emotional support to patients and families to optimize healing, manage chronic conditions, and enhance quality of life. Coordinates and provides care along the continuum with appropriate disciplines to establish and provide quality patient care. Performs ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and documentation of resident care provision in response to ostomy care and modalities of wound care management therapy and recommends change to treatment protocols as needed. Coordinates development and revision of policies and protocols as related to ostomy and wound care management in collaboration with nursing and other disciplines and medical staff based on evidence-based practices. Serves as a consultant providing expert knowledge related to ostomy and wound care management support to physician, staff, residents, families, and instructors and students of nursing and allied health programs. Tracks and supports outcomes to improve the quality of care along the continuum of care and reports findings to the Director of Nursing and Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement Committee.

If the Wound Nurse does not have a Wound Ostomy Continence Nurse (WOCN) certification upon hire, certification must be obtained within one (1) year to maintain their position. The Wound Nurse must be a steward of the tribe’s resources and respect the core values of CIHA by using supplies and products on formulary with the inpatient, outpatient, and clinical wound care programs.

Education/Experience/Minimum Qualifications

• One-year experience in long term care preferred.
• Licensed nurse in the state of NC.
• BLS required.
• BSN in Nursing required. Will consider ASN if currently enrolled in BSN program.
• Experience in Wound Care required.
• Wound Ostomy Continence Nurse (WOCN) certification preferred.

Job Knowledge - bulleted list

A thorough knowledge of the policies and guidelines of the CIHA/Tsali Care Center and wound care systems, standard nursing practices, pliable OSHA/CDC mandates, specialized wound treatment and related regulatory controls are required. Knowledge and expertise in wound and ostomy care is required. The Wound Care Nurse must have the ability assess, plan, implement, and evaluate plans of care and treatments. This person must have an understanding of the EBCI culture, life styles, and risk factors. Six to nine months would be necessary to become proficient in most phases of the position. Must maintain a NC driver’s license.

Complexity of Duties

Judgment and initiative must be used to define parameters to maintain accuracy of work. Resourcefulness and ingenuity are assets when responding to changing circumstances and to meet scheduled deadlines. Decisions must be made after reviewing facts, evaluating situations, and considering best practice for patients within compliance of regulatory entities.

Documentation in the resident’s medical record must be detailed reflecting any changing plans of care, treatment regimens, and adherence to provider’s orders and current evidence-based standards for wound care. Balancing clinical tasks and documentation of treatment(s) and plans of care during work hours is required.

Responsibility for Accuracy

This position requires a high degree of accuracy in reporting health abnormalities to the patient’s primary provider and in the documentation of services provided to patients. Undetected errors could have minimal or life-threatening results. Adherence to all governmental regulatory guidelines ensures compliance and prevention of fraudulent activities. The submission of false or inaccurate information would place the agency at risk for fraudulent claims and the nurse’s license would be in jeopardy.

Contact with others

Clear, consistent, and concise communication skills are a must to maintain contact with coworkers, other health professionals, patients, families and community members. Tact, courtesy and cultural sensitivity are required to maintain positive relationships within the community. Patients and families dealing with the stress of disease and poor health must be dealt with in a sensitive manner. Diplomacy and fairness must be used when dealing with coworkers. It also fosters teamwork and supports continuous quality improvement processes. This position is expected to conduct services and business activity with a high standard of ethical behavior. Responsible for successful relations and the presentation of a positive health image and program to staff, colleagues, medical providers, residents, family members/significant others and member of the community.

Confidential Data

The Privacy Act of 1974 and HIPAA mandates that the incumbent shall maintain complete confidentiality of all administrative, medical and all other pertinent information that comes to his/her attention or knowledge. The Act and HIPAA regulations carry both civil and criminal penalties for unlawful disclosure of records. Violations of such confidentiality shall be cause for adverse action.

Mental/Visual/Physical Environment

Work in various services within the nursing department requires moderate amount of walking, standing and sitting. The Wound Nurse must be able to push/pull/lift up to fifty (50) pounds and have the ability to safely position residents for treatment and wound management independently (or with assistance) to ensure safe resident handling. Must have functional speech, vision, hearing, and touch with ability to use fine hand manipulation skills for procedures/functions. Must be able to push/pull wound care cart with supplies for daily clinical duties. Must ability to cope with the volume of patients and coping with constant changes is required. Some mental stress may be associated with decision-making.

Work Environment

Works in a skilled nursing facility and exposed to biohazards, blood-borne pathogens, and disease processes which require strict adherence to OSHA/CDC guidelines and protocol to prevent transference of disease or infection.

Customer Service– paragraph form (always the same)

Consistently demonstrates superior customer service skills to patients/customers by demonstrating characteristics that align with CIHA’s guiding principles and core values. Ensure excellent customer service is provided to all patients/customers by seeking out opportunities to be of service.