Your Healthcare research published in international journal   You are here: Home » News Detail

Your Healthcare research published in international journal

Research undertaken by one of Your Healthcare’s advanced nurse practitioners has been published in a leading professional journal.

Monika Holman, advanced nurse practitioner and joint lead urgent care and support service for care homes, was pleased when her research was accepted for publication, and delighted when she saw it had been chosen as the lead story on the front cover of the journal.

Her paper reviewed the evidence for using tap water rather than saline solution for wound cleansing in adults, and found that current evidence supports tap water as a safe and cost-effective solution.

Commenting, Monika explained: “Contrary opinions exist about the safety of using tap water for wound cleansing. In my role, I found myself advising care homes that they did not need to buy in large quantities of saline for cleansing wounds and that tap water was just as good. The cost implications are significant: in the UK tap water costs around £0.001 per litre compare with £1.59 for normal saline. There’s also an environmental cost as saline is delivered in plastic ampules. I knew it would be an easier message to deliver if I could point to the evidence, but couldn’t find a definitive paper, so decided to undertake the task myself.”

As part of her advanced nurse practitioner accreditation, Monika undertook a literature review and submitted her work to the Journal of Would Care, a publication with an international audience and the official journal of the World Union of Wound Healing Societies.

She continues: “Elizabeth Nicholls, tissue viability service lead, has a subscription to the journal and brought over her copy when it arrived. I was amazed to see my review highlighted on the front cover as the lead story. I’ve had some really positive feedback from colleagues inside and outside the organisation and hope that my success will encourage others to consider research as part of their career development.”

Lesley Channer, frontline service lead for community nursing, added: “To say I was impressed by Monika’s paper would be a real understatement! At Your Healthcare all our nursing colleagues are encouraged and supported to progress their careers through learning and research. We are lucky to have such a talented and committed nursing team and I like nothing better than celebrating their achievements with them.”

If you would like a copy of Monika’s research, please contact her directly monika.holman@yourhealthcare.org