Chapter 4. Wound Care
4.1 Introduction
Wound healing is a complex physiological process. It occurs after an injury in the cells and tissues of our bodies to restore function of the tissue. The healing process is affected by the severity of the wound, location, extent of injury, and other external and internal factors that will either inhibit or promote wound healing. A health care provider must understand how to assess a wound, assess external and internal factors, and determine treatment to optimize the healing process.
Learning Objectives
- Identify factors that affect wound healing
- Describe the stages of wound healing
- Perform a comprehensive wound assessment
- Describe how to complete a simple dressing change and a wet to dry dressing change
- Review how to irrigate a wound and remove sutures and staples
- Describe care for a wound-drainage system
- Outline steps for removing a wound drain
