Date of Award

Winter 12-16-2016

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Science (DNS)

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Dr. Karen Johnson

Second Advisor

Dr. Amy Hite,

Third Advisor

Dr. Pawan Kahol

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to conduct a needs assessment of registered nurses’ knowledge base and attitudes toward wound care and to be able to customize a wound assessment tool to meet those needs. The visual assessment is an essential part of wound care and performing accurate assessments can lead to making the correct diagnosis, starting appropriate treatment timely, and discharging patients sooner. There are over five million patients suffering from chronic wounds and more cases are added yearly. The nurses need a tool to assist them in their daily assessments. This study utilized an anonymous survey of 23 acute care registered nurses in a small rural hospital. The author developed a 19 question survey which included demographics, multiple-choice questions, and open ended questions to assess the nurses' knowledge and feelings toward wound care to be analyzed in a mixed method, cross-sectional design to evaluate knowledge but to also hear the voice of the participant. An analysis of the data revealed that the nurses have adequate knowledge of pressure ulcers but lack the confidence to use this information. The nurses requested additional education on wound care and are interested in a wound assessment tool to use as a resource to assist them with documenting on their daily skin assessments.

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