In this post, I’m going to answer a question related to suturing and if nurses learn how to do that in nursing school.
“I’ve been looking forward to going to nursing school, and I’ve been wondering if I’m going to learn how to suture…”
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Do Nurses Learn How to Suture in Nursing School?
Registered nurses learn many things during nursing school, but learning to suture is not one of them. RN’s are not allowed to suture. If you want to learn and be able to suture, you’ll have to further your training and become a nurse practitioner.
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Can Nurses Remove Stitches?
A registered nurse (RN) can remove a patient’s stitches if their state nurse practice act and facility policy allows it. Make sure to check your facility policy before removing a patient’s stitches.
What’s the Purpose of Stitches
The purpose of getting stitches is to close the wound site and control the bleeding. By doing this, the stitches help your body heal while also making it harder for bacteria to enter through that opening and cause an infection.
How to Suture
Rather than explaining it myself, I figured it would be much better to let a surgeon explain it. So if you’re curious about how suturing works, watch the video below.
Stitches vs Sutures
On another note, I want to briefly mention the differences between stitches and suturing because there’s a difference, and I think most people don’t realize that.
Sutures are the actual strands (threads) used to close the site of the wound. Stitches (or stitching) is the actual process of closing the wound. The word “suturing” is often used to mean stitching, but it’s not technically correct.
Nurses Do Other Cool Things
Nurses might not know how to suture, but there are other cool things nurses know how to do. Check around my site for more information. Or check out one of the articles below.
