Key Responsibilities / Essential Functions

1. Clinical Care & Consultation

• Conducts comprehensive assessments of patients with actual or potential skin integrity issues, wounds, ostomies, or incontinence.
• Develops individualized care plans and provides expert recommendations for wound and ostomy management.
• Performs wound and ostomy care procedures, including debridement (as credentialed), dressing selection, pouch fitting, and pressure injury prevention.
• Collaborates with physicians, nurses, and interdisciplinary team members to ensure optimal patient outcomes.
• Provides consultation on complex wound and ostomy cases across inpatient and outpatient settings.

2. Education & Training

• Educates patients and caregivers on wound and ostomy care, appliance management, and skin protection.
• Develops and delivers education programs for nursing and ancillary staff regarding pressure injury prevention, wound care techniques, and ostomy management.
• Acts as a clinical resource and mentor to bedside nurses, supporting skill development and confidence in wound and ostomy care practices.

3. Quality Improvement & Data Management

• Leads or participates in wound care performance improvement initiatives and prevalence studies.
• Monitors wound and ostomy outcomes, tracking incidence, healing rates, and pressure injury data for reporting.
• Collaborates with infection prevention and quality departments to ensure compliance with national standards (e.g., NPIAP, AHRQ).
• Reviews and updates wound and ostomy care policies, procedures, and product formulary based on evidence-based practice.

4. Product Evaluation & Resource Management

• Evaluates and recommends wound and ostomy care products, supplies, and equipment.
• Works with supply chain and vendors to ensure product consistency and cost-effective management.
• Assists in standardizing products and protocols across care units.

5. Collaboration & Leadership

• Serves as a liaison between nursing, physicians, and support services to coordinate patient care.
• Participates in interdisciplinary rounds and provides input on discharge planning related to wound and ostomy needs.
• Supports hospital readiness for accreditation and regulatory reviews related to wound and skin care standards.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, Experience Required:

·         Uses common sense and special medical skills to care for the sick

·         Understands technical information from reference books, manuals, nursing leadership journals etc.

·         Uses eyes, ears, hands and fingers with skill

·         Communicates with people

·         Change from one duty to another frequently

·         Follow and/or give precise instructions

·         Records and interprets information accurately

·         Demonstrates leadership skill / ability

·         Current in BLS

Reasoning, Mathematical and Language Development are indicative of the general level of development required to do this job.  Some, but not necessarily all, areas mentioned in this section will be included in this job.

 Reasoning Development:                                

Apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions.  Deals with several abstract and concrete variables.

 Mathematical Development:

Practical application of fractions, percentages, ratio and proportion, statistical analysis, in addition to basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division abilities.

Language Development:         

Reading: Read scientific and technical journals, abstracts, and financial reports.  Records data via paper and electronic means. 

 Speaking:

Communicates verbally using effective voice tone, diction and medical terminology.

RELATIONSHIPS TO DATA, PEOPLE AND THINGS:

 Data:                           

Gathers, complies and classifies information about patients and other people.  Analyzes and interprets data to carry out operational functions of the hospital.

 People:                       

Speaking, hearing, talking with people to convey or exchange information.  Includes giving directions to physicians, staff, patients, families and/or visitors.

 Things:                                      

 Manual dexterity: Use of body members or special devices to work, and perform functions pertinent to accomplishment of job assignment.

Education:  Graduate of an accredited school of nursing.  Possesses a nursing license in good standing in the State of Alabama. BSN or MSN preferred. Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing (WOCN) certification or Wound Care Certification (WCC) required within 12 months of hire.

Experience: Minimum of three years hospital clinical experience with at least one year of wound and/or ostomy management preferred.