Authors

  1. Furlong, Beth MS, MA, PhD, JD, RN
  2. Agrell-Kann, Marie T. MS, RN, CDE, CWCN

Article Content

The elephant in the room

Thank you for publishing the article on racism by Deborah Roberts ("The Elephant in the Room," December 2020). I respect the author for initiating the article and naming the problem so well, and for all the content on which she educated me and other nurses. I also respect the editorial staff for featuring this article on the front cover. I am grateful to the author and the staff for addressing racism in nursing.

  
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-BETH FURLONG, MS, MA, PhD, JD, RN

 

Omaha, Neb.

 

Back to the basics

Consider this brief story: A patient I'll call Mr. S had a wound on his right lower extremity covered with a dressing. Mr. S's doctor requested a wound care consult, and my colleague and I saw the patient on our morning rounds. As I started to remove the dressing so I could assess the wound, I saw that gauze was adhering to the wound. I soaked the dressing with sterile normal saline solution to loosen it and avoid traumatizing the healing tissue. As I gently removed the dressing, Mr. S threw his hands up in the air and exclaimed, "Now I know that you really are an expert! Everyone else just pulled the dressing off to look at it."

 

In the patient's eyes, the simple act of soaking a dressing that had adhered to a wound elevated me to the level of expert. This reminded me of some important lessons that all nurses caring for patients with wounds should keep in mind:

 

* Do no harm.

 

* Minimize pain during wound care assessment and dressing changes.

 

* Soak gauze dressings that have adhered to a wound with sterile saline before removing them.

 

* If possible, use nonadherent dressings that will not stick to wounds. Place a nonadherent dressing directly over the wound and then cover it with a gauze dressing to wick any drainage.1 Nonadherent dressings are fenestrated to let fluid pass through.

 

 

MARIE T. AGRELL-KANN, MS, RN, CDE, CWCN

 

Seaford, N.Y.

 

REFERENCE

 

1. Bianchi C, Cazzell S, Vayser D, et al A multicentre randomised controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane (EpiFix(R)) allograft for the treatment of venous leg ulcers. Int Wound J. 2018;15(1):114-122. [Context Link]