Nurses’ Education, Confidence, and Competence in Appropriate Dressing Choice

Abstract

Wound assessment and treatment are essential aspects of nursing care. Dressing-associated complications can delay wound healing, causing unnecessary patient distress. Despite evidence suggesting that dressings should be changed infrequently, there still remains a tendency for healthcare professionals to remove dressings regularly, increasing the risk of complications and the cost of wound care. To understand the experiences and current practices of tissue viability nurses (TVNs) involved in wound care and dressing wear time in the acute and community settings. This quality improvement project used a mixed-methods design. A retrospective audit was undertaken to establish nurse rationale for the renewal of foam dressings on patients with acute/chronic wounds. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with registered TVNs (n = 12) working in acute and community care settings and focused on their experiences with all dressing types. The analysis identified several key themes, including Training and Education (including the subthemes of TVN Experience and TVN Training), Knowledge and Information, Lack of Confidence (including the subthemes Reasons for Dressing Change and Ritualistic Practice), and Dressing Choice. Fundamental changes in staff attitudes and beliefs about dressing wear time are essential to optimizing dressing performance and increasing patient quality of care. Flexible community services that are reflective of the needs of the service are central to changing practice and increasing dressing wear time in these settings.