Design & Implementation of a Wound Care Specific Orientation Program

TOPIC:  The impact of a growing and aging population affects all health care settings.  Competition among experienced nurses and new graduates as well as between health care facilities, charge leaders with the goal of recruiting and retaining quality nurses.  These concerns have an increased strain on specialty areas of nursing, such as wound care.  Therefore, a wound care specific orientation program was designed and implemented to promote nurse recruitment, retention, competency, and satisfaction.  PURPOSE: This wound care center, like many other specialty nursing units, lacked a specialty specific orientation program.  Nurses new to the field of wound care, whether a new graduate or experienced nurse were exposed to a high volume, advanced practice, outpatient setting requiring the knowledge and skills to care for children and adults with acute and chronic wounds.  New information, technology, and procedures confronted the nurses each day.  OBJECTIVE: The problems of nursing recruitment and retention, issues with staff satisfaction, and the stress placed on nurses new to the specialty of wound care in an outpatient setting,  led to the creation of a specialty specific orientation program.  This innovation encompasses both a classroom and clinical module.  The classroom education centers on organizational and general nursing policies, procedures, and skills, and the multiple facets of advanced wound care in an ambulatory setting.  The clinical experience, through partnering with a preceptor, bridges the gap between knowledge and practice.  This specialty orientation addresses nurse recruitment, retention, competency, and satisfaction.  OUTCOMES: Outcomes are measured through pre and post knowledge tests, topic specific competencies, and evaluations.  Third quarter data revealed a significant improvement from pre to post test scores, completion of all competencies, and positive evaluations of all aspects of this outpatient wound care orientation program.