Wound Care Specialists: Five Skills That Set Them Apart

Wound care specialists have certain skills that are needed to succeed in this challenging subspecialty. The following attributes and skills are what will set you apart from your peers and put you head and shoulders above the rest:

• A lifelong love of learning – wound care specialists are constantly learning new techniques, skills and treatments for wound care management. In order to keep your knowledge up to date, you will have to be committed to learning in this ever-evolving specialty.
• Ability to work independently – depending on where you work, you may be the “go to” person for wound care, which means that you must be comfortable with working independently, depending mainly on yourself to do what must be done.
• Decision-making ability – if you don’t like to make decisions, wound care may not be the right fit for you! Wound care specialists are constantly assessing, reassessing and making decisions about what products to use, when to refer to someone with greater knowledge, and when it’s time to change the treatment plan.
• Tenacity – some wounds are chronic and require the ability to see the big picture. Wounds may take months to heal, requiring many changes in your treatment plan. You must have the drive to stick it out, taking comfort in small rewards. If you can do this, you have what it takes to help your patients achieve wound closure by whatever means necessary.
• Acceptance – despite your best efforts, not every patient will follow all of your advice. Wound care specialists must be able to counsel patients on lifestyle choices, such as diet, smoking and exercise. Even though you may know what needs to be done to help you patient heal, your patients may not always heed your advice. You must be able to accept that people are individuals who are free to make choices- even when you feel that certain choices are counterintuitive to what you and your patient are trying to achieve. This does not mean you should ever give up, but rather that you should accept that you can only do what you can do, and the rest is up to your patient.

If you feel you have these qualities, wound care may be the perfect fit for you. Wound care specialists require education, and Wound Educators has what you need.

Learn more about the specialty of wound care with our wound care certification courses >>