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Deseret Morning News
Wound, ostomy and continence problems are increasingly common as people age. But no one wants to talk about them. And the nurses who are specially trained to deal with the issues are aging as a group, as well.
"Issues few people talk about — bowel and bladder, continence, skin wounds that won't heal, chronic wounds — are the things we specialize in," said Margaret Goldberg, president of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society, at the Salt Palace recently for its annual conference.
"Our biggest challenge is that many of our people are aging, so the resources get less and less and less."
More than 60 percent of members of the society, who are certified every five years in each of the three areas of care, are themselves over 55. And it's not a specialty that new nurses choose fresh out of school. Most of their members practiced general nursing for a time, then got interested from their experiences with patients and went on to learn more about wounds, ostomies and continence.
"It's generally a commitment made after one has been a nurse for some time," Goldberg said.
So they worry about the future of the specialty and what will happen to patients who need them, Goldberg said. And as things get tighter, more of the specialized nurses are directing care, rather than providing direct patient care. By helping other nonspecialists work with patients, they ultimately see that more care gets provided.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,665194589,00.html
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