As told by Estrella Mercurio, NSWOCC (Nurses Specialized in Wound, Ostomy and Continence Canada)
Sometimes, it’s the smell that hits you first when you enter a patient’s room.
The patients can’t help it, often the wound is considered non-healable.
With the embarassment of subjecting family members to the smell, the patient decides not to invite the family to visit her, even though death is imminent.
When the patient’s doctor approached wound care nurse specialist Estrella Mercurio for advice, she knew what to suggest: a charcoal product to absorb odours.
“The product made a huge difference in the last two weeks of this resident’s life: it allowed her family to be with her on her death bed,” Mercurio said.
Mercurio is a specialist nurse designated as an NSWOCC, or Nurses Specialized in Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Canada.
She has grown accustomed to the intricacies and the emotional toll of patients as she treats wounds and injuries in various stages of healing.
A Song to Mask the Pain
Pain is often associated with dressing the wounds.
Some patients deal with it stoically, many others not so much.
Mercurio suggests ways to take the mind off the pain: she asks them to sing their favourite songs.
One of her patients gladly obliged, “singing her song to her heart’s content.”
But when the song ends before the assessment and dressing change is finished, the patient couldn’t help but exclaim “it hurts” over and over again, in her native language.
But there was a hidden surprise, a small victory even, as Mercurio changed her dressing: she saw signs of healing.
“Edges were starting to ‘epithelialize’. Hallelujah!,” said Mercurio.
Lack of NSWOCC nurses
With such a delicate balance of skill, bedside manners, compassion and an iron stomach to handle sensitive situations, NSWOCC nurses are in short supply in Canada and many other countries in the world.
“There are so many patients and fellow nurses we can support with our advance knowledge in wound, ostomy and continence care,” said Mercurio.
“Many of my contemporaries have now retired—we need another cohort not just to replace us but also to add to the pool of nurses in a field that runs the gamut of patients, from the newborn to the oldest of us!”
The rewards can be gratifying: a high demand, high paying job with great satisfaction from being able to help people with their pain and healing.
“The Director of Care and the Assistant Director of Care met me at the elevator and said that nurses are saying the wounds are healing much faster with my help.”
“These and the smile of family members and staff when I see them during my rounds, give me the satisfaction of being a wound and ostomy nurse,” said Mercurio.
Mercurio said that NSWOCC nurses get paid anywhere from $50 to $80 per hour as a full-time nurse at a hospital.
Other self-employed nurses can charge $75 to $130 per client, per visit.
NSWOCC nurses can get their education through a 12-month combined online and in-hospital training, with tuition costs of $5500.
