Last week I told you how fortunate I was to attend the AAWC’s 2nd Pressure Ulcer Summit (PrU Summit) in Atlanta. Along with three colleagues and nearly 200 others, we learned about the latest research, thinking, and best in class approaches to the challenges of managing pressure ulcers. Today I wish to share a few of the key learnings I took away from the Summit.
 
Day one of the conference brought a lot of excitement about the topic of pressure ulcers.  In the room were researchers, physical therapists, physicians, surgeons, nurses, nurse practitioners, product specialists, and administrators from across the world.  The first presentation gave us a patient’s perspective on the issue of pressure ulcers. That set the stage for the remainder of the conference.  An important feature of the PrU Summit was learning how to make pressure ulcer prevention and treatment meaningful to the patient and individualizing care plans and treatment modalities. The remainder of the day was filled with research information on pressure-induced tissue damage both at the micro and macro level.  Most compelling was the research on offloading, including important patient considerations when determining how to offload and the choice of an offloading device to best fit the clinical situation.  
 
I also enjoyed being able to spend time with the pharmaceutical and wound care product vendors during the exhibit hours. It is important to nurture positive collaboration with corporate supporters and vendors. These interactions provide a mutual benefit. Companies can learn more about the challenges we face in wound care practice, taking this information to their teams to improve and advance product development in support of clinical practice and patient needs. In turn, these companies provide clinicians with important research and data to help drive evidence-based practice.  
 
Using the detailed research information from Day 1, the second day brought it all to a practical level.  One of my favorite sessions was the Topical and First Line Treatment program with Kelly Jaszarowski, MSN, RN, CNS, ANP, CWOCN & Stephanie Yates, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, CWOCN, which included ample audience participation. It is so good to hear from a room of clinicians what their practice, experience and opinions are, and then to have that conversation brought back to where the evidence is for those interventions. This interactive program also spawned a great conversation on wound cleansing, wound infection and biofilms, providing AAWC President Tom Serena the opportunity to remind attendees there is more to be learned at the Wound Infection Summit planned for April 26-27, 2019 back here in Atlanta.
 
There were many other take home points and practical applications offered including when surgical interventions for pressure ulcers are warranted; post-acute care considerations including choice of facility; the role of the outpatient wound center in navigating the treatment plan; and tips to secure insurance coverage for durable medical equipment. And that is where the information learned and experiences shared during the PrU Summit take us from here.  Participants left armed with new ideas and strategies to apply in their practices when they return to work. The PrU Summit also spawned research ideas to address new treatment and patient care questions that arose from the presentations and conversations. Wound care requires good research and guidelines that enable us to prevent and treat pressure ulcers while individualizing the plan to each patient, our staff, and our institution.  I invite all of us to come together to take a place at the table at future AAWC summits to discuss the questions, challenges, and research surrounding pressure ulcers.