When I look at a salt shaker, I think about how I sprinkle collagen powder into my patient’s wound. Or, how I get to do arts & crafts when I’m cutting my foam for a wound vac. I’m the geek that looks at wound products differently. I absolutely nerd out at the idea of reading research because it intrigues me! I get a lot of comments from product reps like, “You actually read the research we submitted?!” or “We have a single patient case study.” So, I think to myself, that’s great that you chose to pick the most optimal patient to highlight your product on but is it going to heal the hard to heal wounds we see in a wound clinic? And yes, I read your research and I’ll tell you what I think about it too..the good, bad & the ugly!
Admiral Grace Hopper said, “The most dangerous phrase in the language is, we’ve always done it this way.” I couldn’t agree with you more Admiral. Are we, as wound care clinicians, choosing products to use because it's what we’ve been doing for years? I’m a firm believer that you don’t know what you don’t know. Sounds simple because it is.There are so many products out there that you simply don’t know about yet because no one has told you.
I love reading and always say that my favorite card I ever got was my library card. When I was asked to write a blog about wound care products many months ago, I jumped at the idea, even though reading & writing are two entirely different things. But, I ultimately started writing because I couldn’t answer the simple question of, who is talking about the 4000 wound care products on the market for clinicians to choose from? Let’s ponder together on what products are out there to help heal our patient’s wounds.
Product Pondering is the thoughts running through my head, not a paid sponsorship from the product companies. I choose the products to write about and they find out the same way you do, by reading my blog! So stay tuned for my installment, because I have been doing A LOT of pondering about skin substitutes and it may surprise you.
We Support Wound Centers. For over two decades, Wound Care Advantage (WCA) has supported wound centers to improve patient care and program profitability with innovative tools, technology, and services for sustained success. WCA's mission is to save patients' limbs and lives by promoting operational, clinical, and financial success in wound care programs across the country. For more information visit www.thewca.com.
