Resource nurse program: A nurse-initiated, evidence-based program to eliminate hospital-acquired pressure ulcers

This article describes the process used to establish a systemwide, sustainable team of staff nurses to serve as unit-based resource nurses charged with aiding colleagues in the assessment, treatment, and prevention of pressure ulcers. A multidisciplinary program was developed to address barriers in preventing hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, including incomplete knowledge of causative factors, confusion in determining wound etiology, incorrect staging, inaccurate Braden Scale scoring, and inconsistent application of evidence-supported prevention interventions. The Resource Nurse Program was initiated in a community-based 511-bed, acute care teaching hospital located in the Midwestern United States.