If you’re a healthcare provider, the chances of you seeing the ostomy patient coming out of their ostomy surgery are probably more slim than you coming across a patient with an ostomy who is there for a different reason.
What this means is, it’s important to know about ostomies.
As an RN, you probably learned about ostomies at some point early on in nursing school, but how much of that do you remember? If you aren’t an RN, did you learn about ostomies? Refresh your memory and satisfy some of your CE requirements at the same time by taking a CE course on wound and ostomy care so you can be better equipped to support and help your ostomy patients if they need it.
If you’re in a position where you have to help someone take care of their ostomy, and they’re already familiar with how to care for their ostomy (they didn’t just get out of ostomy surgery), ask them how they prefer to do things. If you’re tasked with emptying or changing their bag, see if they have any tricks they can share with you.
If you do see them right after they get out of their ostomy surgery, be positive with them about their ostomy. They might be nervous about looking at it, but after a day or two, encourage them to take a peak. If you have to change their appliance, encourage them to watch or even help. Continue gradually encouraging them to be more and more involved in their ostomy care so that they’re prepared to care for themselves when they get discharged from the hospital.
Interested in taking your ostomy knowledge to the next level?
There are a couple great ostomy clinician certification courses available to many types of healthcare professionals including LPN, RN, BSN, MN, PT, PA, NP, OT, PTA, and MD.
The Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI) offers ostomy education for nurses, physicians, physical therapists and occupational therapists through courses, webinars, seminars, and their annual Wild on Wounds national conference. Engaging in this education is valuable for your skillset and patient outcomes and can help you earn some of your CE credits and contact hours.
Nurses can also further their education to become a certified Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurse (WOC Nurse or WOCN) through the WOCN education courses.