Burn units provide initial treatment and extended care for severe burns caused by fire, chemicals, steam, or electricity. They require a diverse group of healthcare professionals and offer physical and psychological services. Burn units are difficult to staff due to the nature of the work, but the dedicated professionals who work there can be heroes to their patients.
A burn unit is a hospital ward that deals with the initial treatment and management of severe burns. Many large hospitals have a burn unit, as this type of injury is relatively common and requires immediate medical attention and extended care in severe cases. Working in a burn ward is often a difficult and thankless job, which sometimes receives less attention than more celebrated hospital wards.
Burn units require the work of an extraordinarily diverse group of healthcare professionals. Plastic surgeons, physical therapists, respiratory specialists, occupational therapists, and a wide variety of nurses and technicians all help a good burn center operate efficiently. Many burn units provide both emergency and recovery care, helping victims of severe burns not only survive the initial situation, but also adjust to the sometimes severe lifestyle changes that can occur after a severe burn injury.
There are many types of burns that can land an unfortunate patient in a burn unit. In addition to fire burns, chemical burns, steam burns, and electrical burns can cause critical and even fatal damage. People get intense burns in car crashes, plane crashes, explosions, mechanical accidents, and regular fires. Even after initial treatment, those suffering from critical burns have a long way to go to survive, as skin loss and possible internal burn damage can destroy the body’s ability to continue normal function and inhibit healing.
In a burn unit, the priority is to assess and address the immediate life-threatening issues following a burn. Subsequently, the patient needs to recover and often undergoes surgery to repair some of the damage caused by the burn. Surgeons can perform skin grafts to help replace lost skin, while nutritionists and therapists help a patient progress along the road to recovery. Burn patients are extremely susceptible to infections that can cause graft rejection and other problems, so burn units require an incredibly scrupulous hygiene policy.
In addition to physical medical care, many burn units also offer a wide variety of psychological services. Unfortunately, some burn victims are permanently injured or disabled, even with the best of medical care. Severe depression is not uncommon among these patients; Many burn center workers insist that psychological recovery from a severe burn can be just as important as physical recovery.
Many health care professionals cite burn centers as one of the most difficult places to recruit needed doctors and health care workers. Workers in a burn unit see horrific injuries and must assist patients through difficult and often incredibly painful recoveries. However, the dedicated professionals who work in burn units can be heroes to their patients, saving not only their lives, but continuing to see and treat them as people following a disfiguring or debilitating accident.
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