The management of burns is one of the critical questions to be discussed by nurses who have enough experience of working in burn centers. In the article “Management of Burns in Intensive and Acute Care,” Rowley-Conwy (2013) discusses the aspects of the care that should be provided for patients with major burn injuries in order to prevent the development of complications. The purpose of the article is to describe what procedures should be performed not only by specialists in intensive care units but also by general nurses in emergency departments. Therefore, much attention should be paid to discussing the article’s features and its contribution to the nurses’ practice.
The article can be viewed as the review of the currently used practices to cope with burns in intensive care units, and the author describes procedures that are necessary in order to provide the respiratory care, cardiovascular care, renal care, pain management, wound care, required nutrition, and psychosocial care (Rowley-Conwy, 2013). The target audience of the article is general nurses who need to improve their knowledge regarding burn care. The article can also be interesting to specialists working in burn centers. Still, although Rowley-Conwy (2013) refers to results of the studies conducted in the United States in the 1980s, it is important to note that, being a staff nurse in King Abdulaziz Medical City in Saudi Arabia, the author synthesizes the global experience in burn care to present it in the article.
The information presented in the article can be discussed as easy for understanding by nurses and specialists in burn care because the text includes many terms and descriptions of procedures that should be performed by nurses in order to guarantee high-quality care. Therefore, the article’s content is focused on the target audience, and the information is appropriate to be understood by the reader. It is also important to pay attention to three interesting details that are described in the article. First, the author points out that nurses need to provide cardiovascular care in order to avoid oedema and the associated tissue hypoxia, as well as possible myocardial dysfunction. Furthermore, the focus should also be on renal care, especially when the electrical injury is observed because of the risks of developing acute necrosis. In addition, Rowley-Conwy (2013) pays attention to the fact that burn centers often use the out-of-date approaches to providing wound care because of certain limitations. Thus, healthcare providers can have the limited access to the modern dressings and other required resources.
While referring to the article’s content, it is possible to state that the detailed information regarding procedures to take in order to provide different types of care can be actively used in clinical settings. If a nurse needs to provide the care for a patient with burn injuries, she can use the recommendations proposed in the article to ensure the provision of respiratory care, wound care, and pain management (Rowley-Conwy, 2013). Therefore, the presence of many practical notes regarding burn care and pain management at different levels allows for recommending the article for students who need to improve their basic skills in providing the care for patients with burn injuries.
Still, in spite of the fact that the article provides the detailed and well-structured information on the delivery of the systemic burn care, it is possible to improve the presentation of data and add more information about rehabilitation and psychosocial care. Thus, Rowley-Conwy (2013) provides only a few sentences about psychosocial care and available rehabilitation services for patients with burn injuries, but the problem is in the fact that, in some cases, nurses and other healthcare providers who do not work in burn centers need to spend much time while working with patients and their families. As a result, they need to know how to conduct the psychological assessment and what strategies are effective to support patients. However, the article is written in such a manner that the reader can find oneself searching more details about the described procedures in order to be prepared for providing the acute care in those situations when the immediate reaction is expected to save the patient’s life.
From this perspective, the article includes many details regarding the burn care in intensive and acute care units. However, the review of the article allows for concluding that the detailed and specific information presented in the work is organized effectively in order to provide the reader with an opportunity to select the section of interest and learn the information that can be easily applied to practice. Furthermore, the author provides the discussion of the most efficient procedures with reference to peer-reviewed studies in the field, and the reader can easily utilize the recommendations for the evidence-based practice. Therefore, the article can be discussed as important to be reviewed not only by nurses working in intensive care units but also by general nurses. They will be able to improve their skills in providing burn care.
Reference
Rowley-Conwy, G. (2013). Management of burns in intensive and acute care. Nursing Standard, 27(45), 63-68.