Executive Summary: Debridement: Canadian Best Practice Recommendations for Nurses Developed by Nurses Specialized in Wound, Ostomy and Continence Canada (NSWOCC).

Debridement is described in the literature as having a high level of clinical risk and may result in patient harm when performed by untrained nurses. As a result, specialized knowledge, skills, and competencies are required to initiate, direct, and perform safe and effective debridement. This executive summary provides an overview of Debridement: Canadian Best Practice Recommendations for Nurses from the Nurses Specialized in Wound, Ostomy and Continence Canada (NSWOCC).

Reliability and validity of the revised photographic wound assessment tool on digital images taken of various types of chronic wounds.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the revised Photographic Wound Assessment Tool (revPWAT) on digital images taken of various types of chronic, healing wounds.

Setting: This multicenter trial was performed in a variety of settings where chronic wounds are assessed.

Participants: A total of 206 different photographs taken of 68 individuals with 95 chronic wounds of various etiologies were reviewed in this study.

Bates-Jensen wound assessment tool: pictorial guide validation project.

Purpose: A group of 3 WOC nurses and a nurse researcher, in partnership with the author of the Bates Wound Assessment Tool (BWAT), sought to validate wound photographs depicting each characteristic of the instrument.

Instrument: The BWAT contains 13 items that assess wound size, depth, edges, undermining, necrotic tissue type, amount of necrotic, granulation and epithelialization tissue, exudate type and amount, surrounding skin color, edema, and induration. These are rated using a modified Likert scale; a score of 1 indicates the healthiest and 5 indicates the most unhealthy attribute for each characteristic.

Best practice recommendations for the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers: update 2006.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to enhance the professional nurses' knowledge of the best practice recommendations for the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers.

Target Audience: This continuing education activity is intended for physicians and nurses with an interest in wound care.

Objectives: After reading this article and taking this test, the reader should be able to: 1.

The role of industry in improving quality of life for persons with an ostomy: a Canadian consensus.

Financial and clinical resources (which include 260 enterostomal therapy nurses nationwide) to provide clinical and rehabilitative expertise to the estimated 50,000 to 60,000 Canadians living with an ostomy are limited. Hence, many persons with an ostomy fall through the cracks in the early pre- and postoperative period or are lost to follow-up afterdischarge. Problems and issues related to ostomy management continue to surface throughout their lives.