wound care nurse | Torchora

title: Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Wound Care Nurse
salary: $70,000 - $98,000
categories: ["Nursing", "Healthcare", "Wound Care", "Clinical"]
description: A comprehensive overview of the key responsibilities, required technical skills and professional background for the role of a Wound Care Nurse.
Hiring: Experienced Wound Care Nurse (RN) — Join our multidisciplinary wound care team delivering evidence‑based treatment for chronic and acute wounds. Ideal candidates have strong wound assessment skills, NPWT and debridement experience per facility policy, wound care certification (WCC/CWCN preferred), excellent documentation and patient education skills, and demonstrated ability to work with physicians, podiatry, vascular, and home health teams. Keywords: wound care nurse, wound clinic RN, wound assessment, NPWT, debridement, diabetic foot ulcer, pressure injury, ostomy care, hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

🎯 Role Definition

This role requires a detail‑oriented Wound Care Nurse (Registered Nurse) to provide specialized assessment, treatment and ongoing management of acute and chronic wounds across inpatient, outpatient, and home health settings. The Wound Care Nurse will lead evidence‑based care plans, perform/coordinate debridement and advanced dressing applications, manage negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), educate patients and caregivers, collaborate with interdisciplinary teams, and contribute to quality improvement and clinical pathways to improve healing outcomes and reduce readmissions.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Staff Registered Nurse (Medical/Surgical, ICU, Home Health)
Case Manager or Clinical Nurse
Community Health RN or Home Care RN

Advancement To:

Wound Care Program Manager / Clinic Manager
Clinical Nurse Specialist (Wound, Ostomy, Continence)
Nurse Practitioner with Wound Care focus or Hyperbaric Specialist
Director of Nursing / Clinical Education Lead (wound services)

Lateral Moves:

Infusion or Ostomy/WOC Nursing Specialist
Case Management / Care Coordination
Clinical Educator or Quality Improvement Specialist (wound care)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Perform comprehensive wound and skin assessments using standardized tools and staging systems (e.g., PUSH, Bates‑Jensen) to document wound size, depth, tissue type, exudate, odor, periwound skin condition, and pain; create baseline and serial assessment notes in the EMR.
Develop, implement and revise individualized, evidence‑based wound care treatment plans in collaboration with physicians, podiatrists, vascular surgeons, infectious disease specialists and physical therapists to promote timely healing and prevent complications.
Carry out or assist with conservative and selective debridement methods (autolytic, enzymatic, mechanical, sharp per scope and facility policy) and ensure appropriate documentation, consent and pain management during procedures.
Initiate, manage and troubleshoot Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) devices including dressing selection, sealing techniques, canister management, and coordination of device supplies and vendor support.
Evaluate wounds for infection and colonization, obtain wound cultures per protocol, initiate recommended interventions and communicate culture and sensitivity results to the ordering provider for antibiotic stewardship.
Provide specialized care for pressure injuries, diabetic foot ulcers, venous stasis ulcers, arterial insufficiency wounds, traumatic wounds and postoperative wound complications with appropriate offloading, compression therapy, vascular screening and referral.
Perform wound dressing changes utilizing advanced modalities (foam, alginate, hydrocolloid, collagen, antimicrobial dressings, enzymatic agents and biologics) while maintaining sterile or clean technique per wound and setting.
Deliver patient and caregiver education on wound etiology, treatment plan, wound care at home, dressing changes, nutrition, glucose control, offloading strategies and signs/symptoms that require urgent medical attention.
Coordinate care transitions across settings (inpatient to outpatient clinic, home health, skilled nursing facility) to ensure continuity of wound care, follow‑up appointments and supply availability.
Order, monitor and manage wound care supplies and specialty products while maintaining cost awareness and following formulary and vendor approval processes.
Conduct interdisciplinary rounds and case conferencing to review complex wound patients, present clinical findings, recommend next steps and document agreed plans in the medical record.
Assess vascular status and collaborate to arrange diagnostic testing (ABI, arterial/venous duplex, toe pressures) and timely referrals to vascular surgery or interventional radiology when indicated.
Lead or participate in hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) candidate evaluation and referral processes, including pre‑HBOT screening and coordination with HBOT centers.
Triages wound care consults, prioritizes urgent cases (rapidly spreading infection, exposed hardware, probe to bone), and escalates care per institutional policy.
Maintain accurate, timely and compliant clinical documentation for each encounter including assessment, interventions, patient education and outcomes to support quality metrics and billing.
Provide wound care services in multiple settings as required — outpatient clinic, bedside inpatient consults, bedside procedures, home visits and telehealth wound assessments.
Train, precept and mentor nursing staff and allied health personnel on wound care best practices, dressing selection and NPWT application to raise sitewide competency.
Monitor and report wound healing metrics, pressure injury rates and readmissions related to wound management; participate in root cause analysis when applicable.
Participate in clinical quality improvement initiatives and protocol development to standardize care pathways and implement evidence‑based practices that reduce variability and cost.
Ensure infection prevention and control practices are followed for all wound procedures, dressing changes and device applications to minimize nosocomial infection risk.
Support billing and coding accuracy for wound care services, supplies, NPWT, and procedures by collaborating with revenue cycle and coding departments.
Engage in continuing education, remain current with wound care literature, technologies, and national guidelines; maintain required certifications and licenses.

(Additional Primary Responsibilities — optional based on facility)

Evaluate and manage ostomy issues and peristomal skin breakdown; provide ostomy teaching or coordinate with WOC nurses for complex cases.
Participate in clinical trials or institutional research projects related to wound healing, product evaluation and outcomes measurement.

Secondary Functions

Support wound care program administrative tasks including scheduling clinic sessions, coordinating vendor visits, and tracking supply inventory.
Collect and analyze wound care data for performance dashboards; contribute to monthly/quarterly reports for leadership and quality committees.
Assist in developing clinical protocols, standing orders and patient education materials to align with best practices and regulatory standards.
Provide telehealth wound assessments and remote patient monitoring as part of outpatient follow‑up or home health services.
Participate in peer review, clinical case presentations and morbidity & mortality meetings related to wound outcomes.
Serve as a resource for community outreach and education on wound prevention (pressure injury prevention, diabetic foot care).
Contribute to staff competency assessments and training modules for new wound care products and devices.
Support hospital compliance and accreditation activities related to wound care documentation and prevention programs.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Registered Nurse (RN) license in good standing; current BLS required, ACLS or PALS if applicable to the unit.
Proficiency with comprehensive wound assessment tools (PUSH tool, Bates‑Jensen Wound Assessment Tool).
Hands‑on experience with Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) application, dressing selection and device troubleshooting.
Competence in debridement techniques (autolytic, enzymatic, mechanical; sharp debridement per scope and protocol) and safe tissue handling.
Familiarity with wound culture technique, antibiotic stewardship principles, and infection control for wound care.
Knowledge of vascular assessment (ABI, toe pressures) and ability to coordinate diagnostic testing and referrals.
Experience with advanced dressings and biologics (collagen, growth factors, skin substitutes) and indications for use.
Skill in electronic medical record (EMR) documentation for wound care encounters, orders, and billing support.
Understanding of compression therapy for venous ulcers, offloading strategies for diabetic foot ulcers, and pressure redistribution for pressure injuries.
Basic knowledge of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) indications and referral processes.
Experience educating patients and caregivers on wound self‑care and home dressing changes.
Familiarity with CPT/ICD coding conventions for wound care services and supply billing.

Soft Skills

Strong clinical judgment with ability to triage and prioritize complex wound patients effectively.
Excellent verbal and written communication for interacting with patients, families and multidisciplinary teams.
Detail‑oriented documentation and strong time‑management skills to balance clinic, bedside and administrative duties.
Patient educator and coach — ability to motivate patients toward adherence and self‑care.
Collaborative team player who can lead case conferences and work across specialties.
Adaptability to work across inpatient, outpatient and home settings, and to adopt new wound technologies and protocols.
Critical thinking and problem solving to evaluate non‑healing wounds and recommend appropriate escalations.
Empathy and cultural competency when working with diverse patient populations and sensitive wound conditions.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Current, unrestricted Registered Nurse (RN) license.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) preferred.
Advanced certifications such as Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurse (WOCN), Wound Care Certified (WCC), Certified Wound Care Nurse (CWCN), or Certificate in Wound Care Management preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Nursing (BSN/ASN)
Public Health or Community Health Nursing
Clinical specialties: Wound Care, Ostomy, Hyperbaric Medicine

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–5+ years of clinical nursing experience; at least 1–2 years of direct wound care experience preferred.

Preferred:

Demonstrated experience in a wound clinic, inpatient wound consult service or home health wound program.
Experience with NPWT, debridement, advanced dressings, and multidisciplinary wound management.
Prior exposure to hyperbaric oxygen therapy, ostomy management, or vascular screening is highly desirable.