WOCTalk

Stephanie Furtado, BScN, RN, ET MClScWH, SWO

Neonatal wound care often presents unique challenges. In this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Stephanie Furtado, BScN, RN, ET MClScWH, SWO, to discuss her unique approach to a micropreemie patient born at just 24 weeks. Stephanie outlined her approach within her merit award winning poster at the WOCN Society’s 50th Annual Conference in 2018.

To view a description of Stephanie’s poster, “A Unique Approach to Heal a Neonate’s Open Abdomen Using Gentian Violet/Methylene Blue Polyurethane Antimicrobial Foam”, click here.

An image of Stephanie in front of her poster can be found at wocn.org/podcast.

Participants:

People who have a stoma often have many of the same questions and concerns. In this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with co-authors of the Basic Ostomy Skin Care: A Guide for Patients and Health Care Providers, a resource document that addresses answers to some of the most asked questions that people ask about the care of a stoma and the skin around the stoma. While the answers in this resource are meant for the person who has a stoma, there may also be helpful for the nurse as a teaching tool.

The Basic Ostomy Skin Care: A Guide for Patients and Health Care Providers can be viewed in the WOCN Document Library by clicking here.

WOC Nurses are often called upon to make recommendations to individuals or purchasing/procurement representatives regarding body worn absorbent products. While considered a containment strategy for incontinence, these products simultaneously impact skin integrity. The WOCN Society held a consensus conference to identify current clinical practice gaps and define standards of care for individuals using body worn absorbent products for the management of fecal and urinary incontinence. The goal of the consensus conference was to develop evidence and consensus based statements that result in the development of a manuscript and ultimately, an evidence-and-consensus-based decision support tool around this concept. In this episode of WOCTalk, we feature a discussion with four members of the consensus conference regarding their session at the WOCN Society’s 50th Annual Conference, “Setting the Standard for Body Worn Absorbent Products: Results of the WOCN Consensus Conference”.

To view the full conference session, “Setting the Standard for Body Worn Absorbent Products: Results of the WOCN Consensus Conference”, click here. Want to review more sessions from the WOCN® Society’s 50th Annual Conference? The full conference library is available for purchase. Choose from the entire package, or individual sessions here.

Speaker Bios

JoAnn Ermer-Seltun, MS, RN, ARNP, FNP-BC, CWOCN, CFCN - Nurse Practitioner, WEB WOC NEP; Mercy Medical Center Wound/Continence Clinic

JoAnn Ermer-Seltun is a certified Wound Ostomy Continence (WOC) Nurse and Family Nurse Practitioner at Mercy Medical Center Vascular Wound Center and Continence Clinic, Mason City, Iowa. She is Co-Director for the Metropolitan State University WEB WOC Nursing Education Program and an online instructor for incontinence since 2002. In addition, she is the past owner of Bladder Control Solutions, LLC that addressed continence issues in LTC (long term care).

JoAnn’s current focus is to improve the health and well-being of clients who suffer from chronic wounds, ostomy issues and urinary incontinence, with an emphasis on holistic incontinence care. She has developed educational programs, posters, journal articles and chapters on wound, ostomy, and urinary & fecal incontinence that are presented locally, as well as nationally.

Dr. Mikel Gray PhD, FNP, PNP, CUNP, CCCN, FAANP, FAAN - Professor, University of Virginia

Dr. Mikel Gray is a Professor with the Department of Urology, School of Medicine and Department of Acute and Specialty Care, School of Nursing at the University of Virginia. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing (JWOCN). He has published multiple books, chapters and articles in the field of neurological urology and urodynamic testing, wound, ostomy and continence nursing and urologic nursing. He has lectured on these topics nationally and across the globe.

Dr. Dea J. Kent DNP, RN, NP-C, CWOCN, QCP - Director, Community Health Network

Dr. Kent has practiced WOC Nursing for over 18 years. She currently serves as the Wound Section Editor for JWOCN, and has contributed to the WOC literature base, as well as authored chapters for several texts.

Laurie L. McNichol MSN, RN, CNS, GNP, CWOCN, CWON-AP, FAAN - Clincial Nurse Specialist/WOC Nurse, Cone Health

Laurie McNichol is a Clinical Nurse Specialist and Wound Ostomy and Continence Advanced Practice Nurse at Cone Health in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her 29 year career as a WOC Nurse has focused on the prevention and treatment of pressure injuries, the care of the ostomy patient with a focus on the prevention of peristomal skin complications, the identification and management of incontinence associated dermatitis, and most recently, the identification, prevention and treatment of medical adhesive related skin injuries. She co-edited a core curriculum textbook on wound care, and has authored a number of book chapters and journal articles on a variety of skin, wound and ostomy related topics. She has served as an invited speaker at nursing conferences in Brazil, Australia, South Korea, the UK and China as well as numerous venues throughout the United States.

An experienced nurse and nurse leader, McNichol served as the President of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board (WOCNCB), President of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses SocietyTM (WOCN®) and President of the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP). She continues to be active in these groups leading special projects. She has worked clinically in both the acute and home care settings. Laurie is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

Do you struggle with not having enough WOC nurses to meet the patient needs in your facility or practice area? The Wound Treatment Associate (WTA) and Ostomy Care Associate (OCA) programs can be a game changer. By training your front level clinicians in the basics of evidence-based wound and ostomy care, the reach of the WOC nursing staff can be extended. WTA and OCA trained clinicians can be your eyes on the ground to help identify issues when they first appear and provide early evidence-based interventions as well as give accurate first-hand information to the rest of the WOC nurse team and providers. During this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with WTA and OCA Course Coordinators to showcase approaches to integrating the WTA and OCA programs into your practice.

Interested in learning more about the WTA and OCA Programs?

For information about OCA, visit: wocn.org/ocaprogram

View the full conference session, “Partnering for the Future—Increasing Access to Care (OCA and WTA Integration)”

Want to review more sessions from the Society’s 50th Annual Conference? The full conference library is available for purchase. Choose from the entire package, or individual sessions here.

Speaker Bios

Gisele Castonguay APRN, CWOCN - Nurse Practitioner, Central Maine Medical Center

Gisele Castonguay has offered the WTA program through her institution to both hospital and surrounding regional facilities since 2015. The program is offered twice yearly in a classroom style setting, meeting once weekly for 6 weeks. The goal of the initial program was to provide further education to the inpatient nursing staff and to help develop wound warriors on each nursing unit. Since the implementation of the WTA Program, over 100 individuals that include nurses, NP’s, PA’s and PT’s have successfully completed the program. The program has impacted her institution’s pressure injury rates in a positive way as well as enhanced their ability to provide timely wound care to their inpatient population. It has also provided a much needed community resource for affordable wound education in the region with inadequate WOCN access. The Ostomy Care Associate program was a piloted study in her institution, allowing 17 nurses from across the region, with varied clinical practices, to test the program prior to the official launch. This also provided an opportunity to provide basic didactic and hands-on ostomy education to nurses in a rural setting who have limited access to an experienced WOC nurse.

Sara Coverstone RN, MA - Director, Home Care Compliance and Risk Management, OSF HealthCare

Sara has worked for OSF HealthCare in their Home Care Services department for twelve years, serving as a Certified Wound, Ostomy, Continence Nurse (CWOCN) for eight. She has served in the clinical practice department providing oversight to the wound care team, wound protocols and processes, wound education, and the medical supply program. She has also facilitated wound training extending to the community through the WOCN Society’ Wound Treatment Associate (WTA program). She now serves as the Director of Compliance and Risk Management.

Proper medical documentation plays a crucial role in the everyday lives of medical professionals. Errors and omissions, whether accidental or calculated, can lead to issues in care delivery and defense litigation--even when the care itself was properly rendered. In this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with two partners from the medical malpractice defense group at White and Williams LLP: Debra Weinrich and Edward Beitz, to discuss being a witness, EMR documentation, legal issues and how medical professionals can protect themselves against medical malpractice.

Interested in learning more about this topic? View Debra and Edwards full conference session, “Protecting Your Present and Future: Legal Issues, Being a Witness, EMR Documentation” here:

Want to review more sessions from the WOCN Society’s 50th Annual Conference? The full conference library is available for purchase. Choose from the entire package, or individual sessions:

Other sessions about legal issues and/or EMRs in the WOCN Society’s Continuing Education Center (CEC) include:

Protecting the Roots: Litigation Free EMR

On the Witness Stand

Speaker Bios

Edward Beitz, Esquire - Partner, White and Williams LLP

Edward Beitz is a partner in the medical malpractice defense group at White and Williams LLP. In his ten-year tenure with the firm, he has defended numerous malpractice cases to verdict. His responsibilities include trying case, preparing witnesses for deposition, retaining and preparing experts, developing medical exhibits to explain complex issues to juries. He has also handled a number of medical liability arbitrations and mediations. His experience has made him adept at guiding physicians and nurses through the difficulties of medical malpractice litigation, and helping them explain difficult concepts like anatomy, physiology and related standards of medical care to lay people.

Debra Weinrich, RN, Esquire - Partner, White and Williams LLP

Debra Weinrich is a partner in the medical malpractice defense group at White and Williams LLP. She has been with the firm for nearly 15 years. In that time, she has defended numerous malpractice cases to verdict. Her responsibilities include trying cases, preparing witnesses for deposition, retaining and preparing experts, developing medical exhibits to explain complex issues to juries. Her first career as a nurse has given her the unique ability to identify medical documentation problems and help providers, especially nurses, put them in context to avoid traps set by opposing counsel.

Managing the high output stoma is a challenge for the patient, the family and the nurse. If the stoma is poorly managed, it can lead to local and systemic complications. In this episode of WOCTalk, Dr. Mary Arnold Long reviews the causes and consequences of a high output stomas, as demonstrated in her past educational session, “Slowing the Flow: Dietary, Fluid & Medication Management of the Patient with a High Output Stoma”.

To view the full conference session, click here. Want to review more sessions from past WOCN® Society annual conferences? The full conference libraries are available for purchase. Choose from the entire package, or individual sessions here.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Mary Arnold Long DNP, CRRN, CWOCN-AP, ACNS-BC

Mary has served the Regional and National Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses SocietyTM (WOCN®) in many roles. In 2005, she was awarded the College of Mount St. Joseph Alumni Leadership Award. In 2008, she received the MidEast Region WOCN “CWOCN Nurse of the Year” award. In 2015, she was honored with a “Palmetto Gold” award, recognizing her as one of the 100 best nurses in South Carolina. In 2017, she was recognized as an Oak Hills High School Distinguished Alumnus. She practices full scope WOC Nursing inpatient and has an ostomy outpatient practice, at Roper Hospital in Charleston, SC.

With a robust pressure injury prevention program in place, the University of California Davis Medical Center, a 620 bed level 1 trauma center, was still reporting numerous pressure injuries. During this episode of WOCTalk, Dr. Sunniva Zaratkiewicz sits down with Dr. Holly Kirkland-Kyhn and Oleg Teleten of UC Davis to discuss data they collected, analyzed and reported on at the WOCN Society’s most recent annual conference in Philadelphia. “Deep Tissue Injury: The Future is in Your Hands”, covers the trends and personal findings of UC Davis Medical Center over a series of 5 years, an initiative that was developed in order to find the patient related risk factors in the development of deep tissue injuries in the ICU and how these risk factors compare to the average ICU patient within their facility.

Interested in learning more about this topic? View Holly and Oleg’s full conference session, “Deep Tissue Injury: The Future is in Your Hands”. Want to review more sessions from the WOCN® Society’s 50th Annual Conference? The full conference library is available for purchase. Choose from the entire package, or individual sessions here.

For a list of WOCN Society recorded continuing education sessions on the topic of pressure injuries, click here.

Speaker Bios

Holly Kirkland-Kyhn PhD, FNP, GNP, CWCN

Dr. Holly Kirkland-Kyhn has worked as a Nurse Practitioner for over 20 years in the Sacramento community. Although trained in the US as an RN, she spent her early career working as a nurse and midwife in England and Ireland. She has travelled to Africa, Haiti, and Belize to work in disaster relief and promoting safe maternal-child care in rural areas. She now works at UC Davis Medical Center as the Director of Wound Care and has led interdisciplinary team initiatives throughout the hospital to improve the safety and quality of care for patients. She is an active member of the “Street Medicine” program at UCDMC, providing education on “Treating wounds from the Dollar Tree” to those who serve individuals who are experiencing homelessness and educating the community on wound care.

Oleg Teleten MS, RN, CWCN

Oleg Teleten has worked as a Registered Nurse for 14 years and spent most of his nursing career at UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento. Recently Oleg graduated from UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing with an MS in healthcare leadership and nursing science. He is currently a member of UC Davis Wound Care Interdisciplinary Team and is responsible for QI, research projects and IT support. With his colleague, Dr. Kirkland-Kyhn, he has recently finished a number of pressure injury research studies on pressure injuries in an acute care setting.

The incidence of peristomal skin complications (PSCs) is reported to be as high as 77%, and the negative impact of PSCs on patient quality of life is well documented. In addition, studies show that the majority of patients fail to recognize PSCs, believing that skin issues are "normal", and only 20% seek treatment. This data emphasizes the need for consumer-based tools that educate individuals with ostomies about strategies for maintaining skin health and that assist the person with an ostomy to promptly identify PSCs. During this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Jo Hoeflok and Christine Kim to discuss their session at the WOCN Society’s 50th Annual Conference. “Development of a Patient Peristomal Skin Assessment Guide” was a symposia session that walked through the development, availability, and appropriate utilization of a consumer-based tool for recognition and management of peristomal skin complications—The Peristomal Skin Assessment Guide for Consumers.

View the full conference session, “Development of a Patient Peristomal Skin Assessment Guide”

The WOCN Society’s evidence-based clinical tools are perfect for the home environment to aid with transitions of care and to improve patient outcomes. The use of these free online tools increases staff competence by augmenting skill sets in support surface selection, lower extremity wound management and ostomy complications. For information on the Society’s evidence-based clinical tools, visit: wocn.org/clinicaltools

To demo the Society’s Peristomal Skin Assessment Guides, visit: psag.wocn.org.

Speaker Bios

Jo Hoeflok RN, BSN, MA, CETN(C), CGN(C)

Christine Kim

During this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Dr. Barbara Pieper of Wayne State University. Current Professor and Interim Associate Dean, Dr. Pieper also has a long history of providing chronic wound care to a person who injects drugs (PWID). She recently presented two sessions at the WOCN® Society’s Annual Conference, “Wounds Among Persons Who Inject Drugs” and “Opioid Crisis and the WOC Nurse Role”. Both sessions covered information related to drug-related wounds, opioid usage, and the WOC nurses’ role.

Interested in learning more about PWID or the opioid crisis and the WOC nurses’ role? View Dr. Pieper’s full conference sessions from the WOCN® Society’s 50th Annual Conference in Philadelphia:

Want to review more sessions from the Society’s 50th Annual Conference? The full conference library is available for purchase. Choose from the entire package or individual sessions here.

Speaker Bio