Wound Care RN Jobs Overview
Registered nurses (RNs) specializing in wound care play an important role in acute care, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), dedicated wound units, and more. They assess, treat, and educate patients on how to care for a wide range of wounds, from traumatic wounds to surgical wounds and burns. Wound care RN jobs typically don’t involve full-body assessments or the passing of medications, but are primarily focused on managing wounds across a wide range of healthcare settings.
If you’re an RN with a deep knowledge of wound and skin physiology, and the desire to help patients heal, the wound care specialty may be an ideal fit for you. Find hundreds of part-time, full-time, contract, temporary, and per diem RN jobs in wound care and other specializations throughout the U.S. on IntelyCare’s industry-leading job board. You can also explore related roles such as home health RN jobs and med-surg RN jobs.
Wound Care Certifications, Education, and Skills
Like any registered nurse, wound care RNs must earn a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) or an associate degree in nursing (ADN) from an accredited educational institution, although most employers prefer a BSN. Nursing school prepares its graduates for a broad range of nursing roles, with classes covering pharmacology, assessments, anatomy and physiology, and more. Prospective RNs also complete clinical rotations to obtain hands-on experience.
The next step after graduation is to take, and pass, the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). Passing the NCLEX demonstrates your competence in basic nursing skills, granting you a license to work as an RN. Then, as a licensed new graduate nurse, you’ll work in a residency program for one or two years. Keep in mind that even if you already know you want to go into wound care, it’s rare for new RNs to go directly into a wound care unit.
Wound care RN jobs don’t necessarily require formal certification in that discipline, but some employers do require specialized certification as a prerequisite. The primary certifier for this specialization is the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Care Nursing Certification Board (WOCNCB). There are several different types of wound care RN certifications for nurses, including:
- Certified Wound and Ostomy Continence Nurse (CWOCN)
- Certified Wound Care Nurse (CWCN)
- Certified Ostomy Care Nurse (COCN)
- Certified Continence Care Nurse (CCCN)
- Certified Wound Ostomy Nurse (CWON)
- Certified Foot Care Nurse (CFCN)
- Wound Treatment Associate (WTA)
As a wound care RN, you’ll spend much of your time assessing wound size, depth, edges, surrounding skin condition, presence of drainage, and any other factors that impede healing. Some of the most important skills and attributes of a wound care nurse include:
- Experience documenting electronic health record (EHR) data
- Familiarity with research-backed wound care and cleansing products
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills
- Patience with potentially long healing periods (and ability to convey this to patients)
- Ability to build rapport with empathy
Applying for Wound Care RN Jobs: Resume and Cover Letter
Prospective employers will decide whether to take the next step after reviewing your resume and cover letter. Your RN resume provides a snapshot of your training, experience, skills, and any accolades you may have earned, and should start with a brief but strong summary of your nursing career. If you’re applying for a position in a wound care unit, then make sure you organize your resume in a way that highlights the most important skills needed to fulfill this role.
You can then expand on this, providing a more personal (but still professional) pitch, in your cover letter. It’s important that your cover letter conveys not only your professional and personal values, sense of compassion, and other qualities, but also a strong understanding of the prospective employer and facility. Explain why you want to work in wound care and touch on how your skills, experience, and demeanor would make you the right choice for the role.
Wound Care RN: Preparing for the Interview
The job interview is your chance to connect with the hiring manager on a more personal level, to present yourself as a top candidate, and to determine whether this facility and role are the right fit for you. When interviewing for wound care RN jobs, you’ll want to demonstrate your proficiency in this specialty, such as the steps you would take to prepare a patient for a bedside wound debridement and your approach to pressure injuries. But, as with any nursing job, it’s important to convey a genuine interest in the role and ability to connect with patients.
Wound Care Nurse Salary
The average annual salary for a wound care RN is $95,400 (or $45.85 per hour) in the U.S., although actual salaries differ by state, type of facility, your level of education, and years of experience.
While the cost of living in a particular state or region plays a role in salary levels, so does the demand for RNs. For example, while California and Hawaii offer some of the highest salaries due to the cost of living in those states, Alaska’s need for RNs has pushed the average RN salary in that state to $109,210.
The demand for RNs nationwide is expected to increase by 6% through 2032, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This sustained demand for nurses, which BLS says is higher than average, should ensure relatively high compensation for RNs for the foreseeable future.
Make Your Next Nursing Career Move With IntelyCare
Whether you’re searching specifically for wound care RN jobs or open to a variety of nursing specialties, IntelyCare’s industry-leading job board can connect you with great opportunities from coast to coast. Let us help you find great RN jobs today.