Changing practice: the role of the community stoma nurse

Over the past few decades the nursing profession has recognized the need for major reforms to ensure that it meets future challenges and changes. As a community stoma care nurse, the author was given the challenge of improving stoma care education for all community nurses within the local community trust. This article describes how the community stoma care nurse established what areas of stoma care community staff felt needed updating. However, it also demonstrates that not taking time to plan or use a change tool meant that this was not an organized process and outcomes were not measurable. The article also looks at some recommendations for improving future implementation of stoma care teaching sessions.