Nurses' Perceptions of the Wound, Ostomy & Continence Nurse Consultant Role at a Community Hospital

Purpose and significance- The wound, ostomy and continence (WOC) nurses receive many consults at our community hospital. They range from urgent needs to those in which the bedside nurse just needs to follow hospital protocol. The WOC nurses sought to identify factors and perceptions held by the staff nurses regarding our WOC role. Limited research exists on bedside nurse perceptions of this specialty role. This study will add to this knowledge base and allow other nurse consultants to evaluate their practices for these issues.

Methodology- A 40 item questionnaire was developed to examine staff nurse perceptions of the WOC nurse role. A convenience sample of staff nurses working on the post surgical, medical pulmonary, and critical care units completed the questionnaire.

Results- 56 completed surveys were received. Seventy-nine percent of critical care nurse respondents wanted the WOC nurse to do daily dressing changes. They also favored having the WOC nurse do the weekly wound assessments. Seventy-one percent of nurses agreed or strongly agreed that the WOC nurse should teach patients discharge wound care. Responses were favorable for the WOC nurses being easy to contact and readily available.  Sixty-two percent of nurses disagreed or strongly disagreed that they should do routine negative pressure dressing changes. Other findings will be discussed.

Conclusions- Overall, nurses understand the WOC nurse role. They use them as a consultant but sometimes want them to do bedside care as well. The small sample size was a limitation of the study. The questionnaire can be used in different settings and with different populations of WOC nurses. The results can be used to improve collaboration between nurses and the WOC nurse consultants, resulting in opportunities for improved patient care.