Join Heather for this fantastic day on - Wound Management........

Management of open wounds can be a confusing, lengthy but rewarding process for a Veterinary Nurse.

There are multiple challenges that can arise during open wound management, including; wound location; appropriate lavage; effective debridement; managing infection and final decision surrounding closure.  Team work, personal hygiene, barrier nursing and practice organisation are all small but essential factors in the management of open wound patients, especially in a hospital environment.    The aim of this lecture is to educate the Veterinary Nurse on the importance of the nursing role when overseeing a wound management patient. From selecting the appropriate lavage solution, to understanding the 12 factors of delayed wound healing and appropriately create a patient and wound care management plan with the rest of the veterinary team.    Nurses will return to clinic understanding the importance of correctly managing an infected wound within a hospital environment, when to correctly perform a culture swab and to encourage a high standard of care to reduce cross contamination amongst patients but also to achieve a very rewarding, successful outcome of a healed wound.

   Heather Kirkness qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2013 whilst working at Stone Lion Veterinary Hospital in Wimbledon. She joined North Downs Specialist Referrals in 2013 where she achieved her Vets Now certificate in Emergency and Critical Care and BVNA certificate in Wound Management. Heather became a static surgical ward nurse in 2017, overseeing surgical patient interventions and care outside of theatre. In 2021 Heather joined Vets Now as an emergency and critical care nurse and has been acting Head of Clinical Nursing since July 2021.  Heather has delivered multiple lectures and published articles predominantly on wound management. She continues to have a keen interest in intensive care and all aspects of surgical patient care.