WOCTalk

To learn more about The Value of the WOC Nurse: A WOCN® Quality Improvement Project, click here.

To view the Value of the WOC Nurse resource page, click here.

To begin showcasing your value on the WOC Nurse Value Dashboard, click here.

Members of the WOCN Society may download the WOC Nursing Salary & Productivity Survey here.

About the Speakers:

Joyce Pittman, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FNPBC, CWOCN, FAAN is the Chair of the WOCN Quality Indicators Task Force and an Associate Professor for the College of Nursing at the University of South Alabama Health Sciences.

Jen Hurley, CHCP, CPHQ, is a support staff member of WOCN® where she serves as a Continuing Education & Accreditation Services consultant.

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Information about the SALSAL White Sock Campaign can be found here

Information about SALSAL Patient Assistance can be found here

View the SALSAL Resources here

About the Speakers:

Dr. Desmond Bell is the Founder and President of “The Save A Leg, Save A Life” Foundation, a multi-disciplinary non-profit organization dedicated to the reduction in lower extremity amputations and improving wound healing outcomes through education, evidence-based methodology and community outreach.

He also serves as Chief Medical Officer of Omeza, an evidence-based medical technology company and consumer healthcare products company initially focused on healing chronic wounds and preventing their recurrence. 

In 2020, he joined MD Coaches as an Executive Physician Coach, serving as a peer to peer mentor. Dr. Bell was awarded the Frist Humanitarian Award by Specialty Hospital Jacksonville for 2009 and Memorial Hospital Jacksonville in 2018. He is a Board-Certified Wound Specialist (CWS) having served on the Board of Directors of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care, the American Board of Wound Management for 6 years as well as on the Board of the American Board of Wound Management Foundation. 

He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and is a member of the CLI Global Society. Dr. Bell has published numerous articles primarily pertaining to wound management and lower extremity amputation prevention and has served as an Editorial Board Member for the publication “Today’s Wound Clinic” since its inception.   He is nationally recognized speaker, with regular faculty roles at AMP, ASCENT and Modern Wound Care Management.

Episode Resources:

The WOCN® Society Community platform provides an online support network for questions, inquiries, and professional networking – Join the Continence Community to view discussions, post, and reply to others
The Community platform is a WOCN members-only benefit. You must be logged in with your WOCN membership username and password to view access the online discussions.

Click here to view and download the poster “The WOC Nurse Role in Post-Operative K-Pouch Care” created and presented by Erin and Vanessa

Click here to visit the Quality of Life Association website

Click here to visit the K-Pouch Korner online forum provided by The J-Pouch Group

Click here to view and download the United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA) Ostomate Bill of Rights resources page

Click here to visit the Patient Resources section of the WOCN Society’s website

Click here to purchase the Core Curriculum Ostomy Management, 2nd Edition

About the Speakers:

Vanessa Marra, BSN, RN, CWOCN, has 10 years of nursing experience and has held a WOC Nurse certification for 5 years. Vanessa has expertise with Continent Ileostomy Patient care.

Erin Testerman-Mitra, BSN, RN, CWOCN has 13 years of nursing experience and has held a WOC Nurse certification for 10 years. Erin has expertise with continent ileostomy patient care. Erin served as Secretary, Vice President, and President of the WOCN® Society’s Metro NY Affiliate, and currently sits on the Society’s national Membership Engagement Committee.

Episode Resources:

To learn more about the Better Health Ostomy Peer Support Program, click here.

To refer your patient to Better Health, visit trybetter.com.

About the Speaker:
Emily Gray, MSN, CRNP, CEN, is a nurse practitioner and ostomate who directs the Peer Support program at Better Health. After realizing that ostomates have far more to learn than just pouch changes and basic troubleshooting, she became a peer coach. Now Emily and her team work to provide a holistic approach to patient care that includes product expertise, patient education, and emotional support to help ostomates adjust to their new normal and to reduce the burden on clinical staff.

About the Speakers:

Colleen Drolshagen, BSN, RN, APRN, CWOCN, is a board-certified wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) nurse with over 35 years of experience caring for individuals with these specific needs. She has worked in both acute care and outpatient settings. She has enjoyed many opportunities to speak internationally and to volunteer within her professional organizations. Colleen served on the Wound, Ostomy Continence Certification Board (WOCNCB®) exam committee, served as chair of that committee and is currently on the WOCNCB exam preparation committee. Colleen has also served as Director for the WOCN® Society. Colleen served on the National Conference Planning committee and was also selected as chair for that committee and served 4 years. Currently, Colleen is in the global research department as Principal Clinical Scientist at Hollister. This transition has allowed her to continue her passion of assisting individuals with ostomy and continence needs but now on a global level. She contributes to science-driven information that supports positive outcomes to enhance their quality of life.

Mandy Spitzer, MBA, RN, CWOCN, CFCN, has been a Registered Nurse for 14 years with a focus on wound, ostomy, and continence nursing for the past 11 years. Prior to joining Smith+Nephew, Mandy practiced at a Level-One Trauma Center where she gained experience addressing chronic wounds, complex surgical wounds, ostomies, and guiding the WOC practice and staff education for the institution. She currently serves as President for the South Central Region of the WOCN Society and is an active member of the WOCN Society. Mandy now serves as Senior Global Clinical Strategy Manager supporting real world evidence generation for Smith+Nephew's Advanced Wound Care portfolio.

On this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Mary Jo Conley, BSN, RN, CWOCN, to discuss the implementation of a WOC nurse council that consolidates policy and practice across a large hospital network. Mary Jo goes into detail of how the idea of the council was born, the structure of the council, projects, challenges, and so much more. She addresses how the council serves as a great forum for networking, questions, feedback, and support for new WOC nurses and various departments. She also offers advice for nurses who want to start out on this path. The topic of WOC nurse councils has received a lot of engagement in the WOCN Communities, a WOCN Society members-only online platform for professional networking and questions. 

About the Speaker:

Mary Jo Conley, BSN, RN, CWOCN has been a member of the WOCN Society for more than 30 years. She has recent experience leading a WOC nurse council comprised of WOC nurses from 10 facilities within a hospital network to consolidate policy and practice across the network. Mary Jo currently serves on the WOCN Society’s Board of Directors. She has also been involved in various WOCN Society committees and task forces.

Resources:

Mentioned in this episode - Visit community.wocn.org to access the WOCN Community platform, or access it on the WOCN website under the Members-Only dropdown menu.

Mentioned in this episode - Click here to read the JWOCN article “Development and Implementation of a Simple Wound Care Guideline for Minor Skin Lesions”

On this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Sara Coverstone, RN, MA, CHC, CWON, Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer, for an inside look into the role of healthcare compliance and privacy. Sara breaks down the difference between corporate compliance vs. risk management, common compliance misconceptions, important areas that WOC nurses and clinicians should be aware of, and she offers strategies for WOC nurses to promote positive compliance and ways to enhance knowledge of corporate compliance.

About the Speakers:

Sara Coverstone has worked in an integrated health system for more than fifteen years, serving as a Certified Wound and Ostomy Nurse (CWON) for eight of those years. She has had roles in the clinical practice department of post-acute care providing oversight to the wound care team, wound protocols and processes, wound education, and the medical supply program. She now serves as the Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer, addressing rules and regulations for the health system. Sara has facilitated wound training both to the health system and to long-term care facilities in the community with the WOCN® Society’s Wound Treatment Associate (WTA) Program. She served as a member of the national WTA Advisory Committee from 2016-2020. She currently serves as the Chair of the WOC Extender Advisory Committee, the newly combined WTA and OCA Program committee.

Resources:

Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA)

American Health Law Association (AHLA)

On this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Renee Malandrino, MSN, RN, CWOCN, Margaret Goldberg, MSN, RN, CWOCN, and Lisa Peacey, BSN, RN, NSWOC, three of the authors of the WOCNext® 2022 ePoster, “Patient Reported Outcomes on Living with an Ostomy: Reporting on Three Years of Data.” Renee, Margaret, and Lisa discuss the Observational Study of Ostomy Consumers (OSO™) registry, the registry collection tools, and their thoughts on the current OSO registry survey results. 

The OSO registry provides an opportunity to collect prospective, observational, patient-reported outcomes data and explore the experiences of living with an ostomy over a 5-year period. This information will aid in directing future research to support or challenge current knowledge and therefore guide future clinical practice, clinical research, and new product innovations.

This podcast episode is supported by an educational grant from Hollister Incorporated. The WOCN® Society does not endorse specific products and services. 

Episode Resources:

Click here to read the Wound Management & Prevention Original Research article, “Methods and Initial Findings of the Observational Study of Ostomy Consumers Registry”

Click here to visit the online Hollister Product selector

Click here to view the WOCNext 2022 abstract, “Patient Reported Outcomes on Living with an Ostomy: Reporting on Three Years of Data.”

Click here to view the interactive ePoster and author video from WOCNext 2022

Click here to view all WOCNext 2022 accepted abstracts and ePosters

Click here to view the Peristomal Skin Assessment Guide for Clinicians

Click here to view the Peristomal Skin Assessment Guide for Consumers (English)  

Click here to view the Peristomal Skin Assessment Guide for Consumers (Spanish)  

This special podcast is part of the Ostomy Observations Series, a brand-new 6-part series that is included in the "Educating Today for Exceptional Outcomes Tomorrow" Program and is commercially supported through an educational grant from Hollister Incorporated. 

On this final series episode, we talk with Jan Colwell, APRN, CWOCN, FAAN, to discuss colostomy irrigation management and best practices.

This podcast is part of the OstomyObservations Podcast Series, a brand-new 6-part series that is included in the "Educating Today for Exceptional Outcomes Tomorrow" Program. Both the podcast series and the Educating Today for Exceptional Outcomes Tomorrow Program are commercially supported through an educational grant from Hollister Incorporated. For additional information, please visit: wocn.org/exceptionaloutcomes. The WOCN® Society does not endorse or support products or services.

Episode Resources:

Read the JWOCN® Evidence-Based Report Card Does Colostomy Irrigation Affect Functional Outcomes and Quality of Life in Persons With a Colostomy?

Read the JWOCN® article Colostomy Irrigation: Current Knowledge and Practice of WOC Nurses

Learn about the Ostomy Care Association (OCA) Program

Speaker Bio:

Jan Colwell, APRN, CWOCN, FAAN, has practiced as a wound and ostomy nurse for over 40 years. Most recently Jas has been the lead ostomy advanced practice nurse in an outpatient ostomy clinic. In her role as an ostomy nurse, Jan has had the opportunity to educate patients on colostomy irrigation and has been part of a research team that has examined the perceptions of ostomy nurses on irrigation. Jan has made many contributions to the field including serving as Past President of WOCN®, Editor and contributor to two ostomy care text books, Ostomy section Editor for the JWOCN®, Principal Investigator on several ostomy related research projects, Author on numerous publications in peer reviewed journals, member of the Task Force to update the WOCN Ostomy Guidelines, and has presented multiple oral presentations on ostomy care nationally and internationally.

On this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Mary Ann Whaley, BSN, RN, CWON, CFCN, and Stephanie Stokes, BSN, CWOCN, CFCN, to discuss their facility’s new inpatient foot and nail care program. Services include basic foot assessment, foot/nail cleaning, toenail trimming, callus removing, moisturizing, and more. They also discuss the potential to turn this into a billable service and expand the lower extremity assessments.

About the Speakers:

Mary Ann Whaley became certified in wound care in 1999 through the WOCNCB. In 2005, I obtained my Certified Wound Specialist (CWS). In 2015, Mary Ann became certified in wound, ostomy, and foot. Her practice includes assessment and treatment of lower extremity wounds in patients with diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and other comorbidities. Toenail trimming is a service that she has recently been providing to inpatients with excessively long toenails, nails impinging on adjacent toes, and for nails that are inhibiting ambulation.

Stephanie Stokes, BSN, CWOCN, CFCN, has been a certified wound, ostomy, continence, and foot care nurse since 2012. Her work as a CWOCN and CFCN includes but is not limited to experience with lower extremity and foot assessments and identification/treatment of wounds located on the feet and lower extremities. The addition of toenail trimming for patients in her facility with chronic comorbidities such as diabetes, vascular insufficiency, and diseased toenails is a new service she has been able to provide based on identified patient needs.