Wound Care Specialist

Responsibilities: Clinical Practice & Patient Care

• Demonstrates critical thinking in identifying clinical, social, safety, psychological, and spiritual patient needs.
• Provides ongoing follow-up for ostomy and skin care patients after discharge to ensure continuity of care.
• Incorporates NPUAP and WOCN standards, as well as organizational goals, to improve quality, safety, and patient satisfaction.
• Creates a compassionate, patient-focused experience through healing relationships with patients, families, and colleagues.
• Applies the nursing process within the framework of Relationship Based Care to create a healing environment.
• Develops individualized plans of care and communicates them effectively with patients, families, physicians, nursing staff, and other healthcare team members.
• Maintains accurate documentation that promotes communication and coordination of care.

Education & Professional Development

• Demonstrates a passion for developing self and others.
• Precepts students, graduate nurses, new hires, medical students, residents, and staff.
• Supports continuous learning through research sharing, professional organization resources, journal clubs, presentations, in-services, and formal lectures.
• Identifies opportunities for clinical quality improvement and workplace enhancement.
• Applies evidence-based practice principles in daily work.
• Participates in product evaluations to ensure cost-effective, high-quality patient care.
• Regularly seeks feedback and engages in continuous professional improvement.

Leadership & Professional Practice

• Serves as a recognized clinical expert, educator, specialized resource nurse, and leader in wound, ostomy, continence, and skin care.
• Provides constructive feedback and participates in peer review processes.
• Promotes changes that enhance patient care quality across the WOCN department and nursing organization.
• Demonstrates advanced clinical assessment and analytical skills.
• Participates in shared governance and serves as a resource to hospital-wide councils.
• Leads and contributes to successful teams and department initiatives.

Collaboration & Workplace Relationships

• Builds and maintains positive relationships with colleagues.

• Models cultural awareness and addresses workplace issues such as horizontal violence and impairment.

• Maintains a healthy work-life balance through prioritization and delegation.

• Fosters a respectful, collaborative, and supportive work environment

• Minimum of 2 years of nursing experience required.

Licensure & Certifications

• Current Pennsylvania licensure as a Registered Nurse (RN) or eligibility for Pennsylvania State Board Licensure.
• Current RN licensure in the practicing state or eligibility for State Board Licensure.
• Wound and Ostomy Certification preferred.
• Basic Life Support (BLS)or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification required.
  Must meet AHA standards and include both didactic and skills demonstration components within 30 days of hire.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Demonstrated clinical judgment, critical thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to establish and maintain positive, professional relationships with:

• Executives

• Managers

• Physicians

• Advanced Practice Providers

• Other healthcare professionals

• Ability to work effectively in a complex environment while managing multiple and changing priorities.

Additional Requirements

• Current licensure in the state where the facility is located, or a multistate license issued through the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC), when applicable.
• Employees working under an out-of-state NLC license who establish residency in the facility's state must apply for in-state licensure within 60 days of residency change

UPMC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran