Wound Certification

As a child, I did my best to teach my stuffed animals. I lined them up perfectly, and set up my little card table and chairs. I couldn’t wait to grow up and become a real teacher. Teaching what, I didn’t know. Well, since then I have become a wound care educator for physicians and nurses. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about wound care education. Not education in terms of course curriculum, but education as the process of transforming one’s thinking and perspective.

By Samantha Kuplicki, MSN, APRN-CNS, AGCNS-BC, CWS, CWCN, CFCN

After graduating with my BSN and passing the NCLEX, I was dead set on becoming the perfect ICU nurse. I am a very detail-oriented, meticulous, and organized person, which I had been told is great for the critical care environment. I had completed an externship in cardiac ICU in the spring before graduation, and felt I had an excellent chance of securing employment on that unit. I fit in with the team, the manager liked me, and I had begun to develop relationships with the physicians. After my interview, I was told I had not been selected for the position. I felt lost and defeated. I could not understand what I had done wrong.

By Laurie Swezey RN, BSN, CWOCN, CWS, FACCWS

There are many benefits to taking an online course to prepare yourself to write a wound care certification exam. The following outlines some of these benefits:

By Diana L. Gallagher MS, RN, CWOCN, CFCN

I recently had the honor of participating in a meeting of the Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing Certification Boar> (WOCNCB®). My role was to assist the Foot Care Committee with the evolution of the exam for certification in foot care nursing. All WOCNCB exams are expanding to a larger format based on the recommendations of the testing industry. The committee worked diligently to assure that item inclusion matched the test blueprint which in turn matched the job analysis that had been completed earlier this year. There is SO MUCH work that goes on behind the scenes to maintain examinations that are worthy of the WOCNCB's "Gold Standard." Participating in this meeting was truly an honor. As one of the members of the original committee for foot care nursing, I could not have been prouder of the progress that has been made in the past decade.

By Laurie Swezey RN, BSN, CWOCN, CWS, FACCWS

You've learned all you can about wound care. Perhaps you've been working in wound care for a while and have decided that you would like to pursue wound care certification to showcase your knowledge and give you a leg up at work (and perhaps a nice raise!). Here's how to go about preparing for the wound care certification exam.

By Diana L. Gallagher MS, RN, CWOCN, CFCN

I frequently write about the value and rewards of being a WOCNCB® certified nurse. It is an amazing job that allows me to save limbs and change lives on a daily basis. After decades of working in acute and outpatient care, I now work as an independent consultant. I teach, I write, and I see patients on a daily basis. Where I live, we currently do not have a single home health agency that employs a Certified Wound and Ostomy Nurse (CWOCN®). Routine wound and ostomy care can be easily managed but when there are those challenging patients with difficult wounds or unusual ostomies, there is a clear need for the care of a CWOCN.

By Laurie Swezey RN, BSN, CWOCN, CWS, FACCWS

Thinking about becoming a certified wound care professional? If you have been researching your options, you may have come away more confused than ever. There are many certification bodies, all with different options and requirements, adding to the confusion surrounding wound care certification.

By Diana L. Gallagher MS, RN, CWOCN, CFCN

Nature's seasons seamlessly transition from one to the next. This morning as I sit at my desk writing, autumn leaves in glorious colors are showering down forming a variegated carpet across my lawn. Just as changing landscapes celebrate nature's accomplishments, the credentials after our names celebrate our professional accomplishments.