A few years ago, experienced nurses at the emergency room in Umeå were trained in writing X-ray referrals for obvious fractures. Now they are taking another step and training six nurses in sewing simple wounds, something that was previously only done by doctors.
– Sometimes we have tasks that are much more urgent and it can take a very long time before we reach a patient with a wound, says Samuel Gran, ST doctor at the emergency room.
“May have to wait six hours or more”
The idea is to improve flow and reduce waiting times in the emergency department.
– Patients with wounds can have to wait a long time, six hours or more, says Jens Holmström, nurse and training manager at the emergency department.
The expanded duties are also seen as a skill development for nurses who have worked for a few years in the region. It is voluntary and the nurses are not paid extra.
Surgeons train
The nurses undergo a half-day course held by two surgeons. After that, they must also, under supervision, sew real wounds on some patients before they are approved.
– One of the patients I sewed would have had to wait a very long time at night otherwise. It was a big win and the person got to go home many hours earlier, says Jens Holmström.
When the nurses sew, a wound assessment is first carried out in which doctors are consulted. The doctor also checks afterwards that the stitches look good.