Impaired Skin Integrity Care Plan
Impaired skin integrity care plan is a comprehensive strategy on how to carry out monitoring on a patient whose mucous membrane has been damaged. During the evaluation, the nurses can consistently follow the treatment procedures to ensure healing (Pezzi et al. 216). The care plan should comprise identifying various symptoms in a patient which indicates the healthcare progress made. For example, the document should include checking the heat and tenderness of the affected area (Tuinman et al. 578). Other issues included in the care plan document is checking the extent of localized pain and the tendency of the person to protect the affected area.
The care plan is meant to provide a roadmap to assist a patient in realizing various patient outcomes. One of the goals is to decrease the size of the wound and increase granulation. The reduction in the size of the wound is a sign that the healing is progressing positively (Tuinman et al. 579). Another goal that is documented in the care plan during the treatment of impaired skin integrity is the absence of skin breakdown and the absence of irritation around the affected area. The care plan is crucial in ensuring the nurses can assess if the patient requires extra interventions to enhance healing.
Nurses can use the impaired skin integrity care plan to carry out the nursing assessment. The assessment provides information about causes of skin damage and the possible ways of preventing the injuries in future (Pezzi et al. 217). For example, the assessment can involve mental evaluation to find out the strategies that can be applied to recommend further treatment of the patient. On the other hand, the assessment will involve identifying the possible reasons why the wound is not healing at an expected rate (Menna, Swanson and Abreu 106). The slow healing could point towards possible malnutrition, poor appetite or dehydration. Once the causes for poor healing are assessed and identified it will be easier to provide the necessary solutions.
Impaired skin integrity treatment procedures should involve an elaborate care plan to help in the involvement of the relevant specialists such as surgeons, dietician or other relevant clinicians. The involvement of specialists is crucial in facilitating proper healing (Pezzi et al. 218). It also helps in involving the specialists before a situation becomes worse. Therefore, a care plan is crucial in the treatment of impaired skin integrity. It also helps in identifying the underlying causes for slow-healing such as malnutrition, high or low glucose levels or complicated skin conditions.
Works Cited
Menna Barreto, Luciana Nabinger, Elizabeth A. Swanson, and Miriam de Abreu Almeida. “Nursing outcomes for the diagnosis of impaired tissue integrity (00044) in adults with pressure ulcer.” International Journal of Nursing Knowledge 27.2 (2016): 104-110.
Pezzi, Marian Valentini, et al. “Nursing interventions and outcomes for the diagnosis of impaired tissue integrity in patients after cardiac catheterization: a survey.” International Journal of Nursing Knowledge 27.4 (2016): 215-219.
Tuinman, Astrid, et al. “Accuracy of documentation in the nursing care plan in long-term institutional care.” Geriatric Nursing 38.6 (2017): 578-583.
