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Volume 3, Number 4 |
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| Dermatology nursing and distance learning |
Ann Davies RGN DipN CSM Dermatology Nurse, Manager & Course Tutor, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff; Mags Rees RN RM DipN (Lond) MSc Nurse Practitioner, The Taff Riverside Practice, Cardiff |
‘Nurses are possibly the most important group within the dermatology medical team and have a vital role to play in quality of care received by patients.’1 So wrote Lynette Stone in 1997. It is my belief that dermatology nursing has matured to a level where experienced dermatology nurses are in an ideal position to pass on their skills and knowledge to colleagues in primary care. |
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| How to … care for a patient post pulsed dye laser treatment |
Sister Susan Neale RGN of St John’s Institute of Dermatology, London |
Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Vascular lesion lasers such as pulsed dye lasers are used to treat many different types of skin lesions such as port wine stains, spider nevi, venous lakes, talengectasia, warts and keloid scars. Sister Susan Neale RGN of St John’s Institute of Dermatology, London, explains how to care for patients being treated with pulsed dye lasers |
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| The use of larval therapy for the treatment of leg ulcers – a clinical study |
Rowena Mellows RGN BA(Hons) Cert Hlth Prom Staff Nurse, Dermatology Unit, Rotherham General Hospital, Rotherham |
Larval therapy is not a new phenomenon. The accidental infiltration of battlefield wounds by maggots, resulting in improved healing rates, has been known for centuries. Maggots’ ability to clean infected wounds was recorded in both the American Civil War and the First World War. |
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| How nurse-led clinics can help to relieve demand on dermatology departments |
Anne Pitkeathley BSc Nursing RGN Senior Staff Nurse, Dermatology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne |
In 1996 the Dermatology Department at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) recognised that the demand for their specialist services had never been greater. To meet this demand, however, existing services needed to be reviewed so that waiting times could be reduced and a quality service provided. |
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| The dangers of sunbeds |
Christopher New BSc Biochemistry Campaign Manager for Skin Cancer Prevention, Health Education Authority, London |
Sunbeds have been receiving some bad press recently, and yet the industry continues to grow and insist they are harmless if used in moderation. Recent Health Education Authority (HEA) surveys show that nine percent of the population have been on a sunbed in the past year. In 16–24-year-old girls, the figure rises to 15 percent. So, what evidence is there that sunbeds might be harming our health? |
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