Major Responsibilities:

Provides consultation and direct patient care for prevention and management of wounds.

Provides teaching for patients and families/caregivers, interfaces with wound therapy staff on additional teaching needs.May be required to assist inpatient wound program on an as needed basis until outpatient program is fully operational.Performs and documents wound/skin assessments using a comprehensive and systematic approach.Facilitates a comprehensive plan of care and communicates plan to physicians, wound therapists, and other health care providers as appropriate.Collaborates with health care team members to ensure effective implementation of plan.Evaluates effectiveness of interventions and revises plan as needed.Communicates ongoing wound care needs and interventions across the care continuum, including the outpatient wound program.Educates health care professionals, other caregivers, and patients about risk factors, prevention, and appropriate interventions and treatments.Serves as a resource to instruct and monitor clinical staff in prevention strategies and the delivery of care for wound management.Provides information on current trends, techniques, and wound research outcomes to staff.

Improve cost and quality outcomes related to wound prevention and wound management.

Collaborates with hospital teams and departments to develop, implement, and evaluate strategies to prevent and treat wounds.Assists the hospital and Advocate’s Wound Care Council in identifying cost savings related to wound care supplies and treatment modalities.Ensures results equal to or better than national data on outpatient wound healing.Maintains statistics for wound patient populations.Develops wound care competencies for nursing staff. Provides guidance and expertise for product usage and techniques.Performs quality improvement monitoring on identified areas that are high-risk or require improvement. Develops interventions to address identified issues.Obtains input to evaluate effectiveness of role and opportunities to better meet customer needs.Keeps abreast of current standards of care via literature, educational events, internal and external resources, and internal/external networking.Maintains memberships in professional and community organizations.Participates in activities to enhance professional growth by involvement in professional organizations and continuing education.

Operational Planning

Maintains statistics for wound patient populations.Leads program development initiatives.Develops and implements policies and procedures relative to the department with manager and/or director.Maintains a relationship with professional organizations and associations for the purpose of keeping abreast of external trends which affect this area of practice.Aligns department goals with site goals.Participates in the development of annual KRA/LEM goals for the department: devises an action plan and implements strategies to meet these goals with manager and/or directorAssists the hospital and Advocate's Wound Care Council in identifying cost savings related to wound care supplies and treatment modalities.Assist manager/director in developing and monitoring operational and capital budget.Participates in hospital wide committees and activities as appropriate.Improve cost and quality outcomes related to wound prevention and wound management.Designs and implements workflow processes for physician based wound program.

Licensure:

Registered Nurse license issued by the state in which the team member practices, andCPR Certification

Education/Experience Required:

Bachelor’s Degree in NursingTypically requires 4 years clinical experience, with one year supervisory, Team Lead or Charge Nurse experience.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required:

CWOCN Certification, or COCN and CWCN and CWSCPR Certification preferred.Experience in quality improvement.Knowledge of Adult Education.Experience in an outpatient setting.Clinical Expertise in Wound Care preferred.Excellent communication and problem-solving skills.Ability to teach and motivate staff.Clinical expertise in specialty area.Basic computer skills (i.e. MS Word)Able to communicate with patients and members of health care team.Hours to accommodate wound center business needs.Ability to organize work.Ability to travel to other Advocate facilities.Able to work under time constraints.Flexibility to deal with changing environment.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions:

May be exposed to hazardous materials and life-threatening disease.Medium lifting of up to 20 to 50 pounds occasionally and/or 10 to 25 pounds frequently and/or 10 to 20 pounds constantly.This position will need to recognize the needs and behaviors of a variety of age groups and look for signs of normal aging, prior experience with various age groups is preferred.This position can recognize needs and behaviors of the following age groups: adult and older adult. Evidence of this can be shown by recognizing levels of development and modifying approach and exhibiting communication skills necessary to interpret age specific responses.If position has direct patient care or direct patient contact the following lifting requirement supersedes any previous lifting requirement effective 06/01/2015. Ability to lift up to 35 pounds without assistance. For patient lifts of over 35 pounds, or when patient is unable to assist with the lift, patient handling equipment is expected to be used, with at least one other associate, when available. Unique patient lifting/movement situations will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

This job description indicates the general nature and level of work expected of the incumbent. It is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the incumbent. Incumbent may be required to perform other related duties.