Archive for the ‘Wound Care Careers’ Category

Wound Care Nurse Duties

Friday, September 30th, 2022

Patients with a diverse range of health conditions rely on wound care nurses to manage their treatment and keep them safe from infection. But what exactly do wound care nurse duties include?

Wound care nurses perform a wide variety of critical services, from assessing diabetic foot conditions and mitigating infections to developing treatment plans and caring for pressure injuries.

The importance of wound care in nursing relates to the ability to reduce a patient’s pain and promote healing as quickly and completely as possible. To become a certified wound care nurse, you will need to enroll in specialized wound care courses. These courses provide nurses with the wound care information they need to remain current with evolving care standards, enhance their knowledge of skin and wound management, and stay legally defensible at bedside.

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The Benefit of Mentorship in Wound Care

Tuesday, August 16th, 2022

Whether you’re a certified wound care nurse or clinical educator seeking to share your wisdom, mentorship in wound care is invaluable to healthcare staff at any stage in their career.

According to the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Certification Board (WOCNCB), there are almost 8,000 nurses certified in wound care. The wound care profession is a cohesive community of healthcare professionals who collaborate, share knowledge, network, and support one another, defining what mentorship in wound care is all about.

Many may think the term “mentorship” is synonymous with “preceptorship.” However, while precepting shares similarities with mentoring, mentorship in wound care can be vastly different.

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The Pros and Cons of Wound Care Nursing

Friday, July 29th, 2022

Whether they’re just starting out in their career or looking to make a change, today’s nurses have a variety of settings and specialties to choose from. Understanding the pros and cons of wound care nursing can help determine if a particular choice is right for you.

Wound care nursing is a much-needed specialty for nearly every healthcare setting — including acute, long-term care, and home care. And unlike certain specialties, wound care nurses treat several patient populations with varying degrees of complexity and must understand how to manage different types of wounds.

Learning the pros and cons of wound care nursing will also help you understand how this role differs from other specialties you may be considering.

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Wound Care Nurse Salary and How Some Skills Can’t Be Monetized

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2021

If you’re a nurse with a passion for skin and wound care, you may want to consider expanding your professional marketability by becoming wound care certified.

Average Salary for a Certified Wound Care Nurse

So how much do wound care nurses make? According to some online sources for wound care nurse salary data, the average annual wound care nurse salary ranges from $47,000 to $86,000 and an average annual wound care nurse salary at just over $69,000.

Keep in mind that salaries for wound care nurses can vary greatly from the annual rates, depending on a few other factors, including the state and city you in which you practice, your level of education, the size of the organization, and whether or not you have wound care certification. All of these play a role in your earning potential.

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Determine If Live Online Training Is a Good Fit for Your Learning Style

Wednesday, June 10th, 2020

Are you thinking about taking our courses to earn wound care certification?

We personalize your learning by offering a variety of skin, wound and ostomy management classes in three formats:

  • Live onsite — in-person training
  • Online — you log in to learn at a convenient time for you
  • Live online training — all students log in at the same scheduled time for live, interactive classes and instruction

While some students know exactly which format best suits their learning style, you may wonder which structure fits your needs.

We spoke with Denise Richlen, PT, WCC, DWC, CLT, clinical instructor with WCEI, co-owner and COO of Infinitus, LLC and Wound Care Gurus, LLC in Santa Claus, Ind., to understand the different learning formats.

She shared which ones may be most suitable for various learners, and in particular, the benefits of live online learning.

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Why Continued Competence in Wound Care Nursing Matters

Wednesday, April 29th, 2020

Continued competence in nursing is not a new idea. It has been the focus of professional nursing practice at all levels.

You can find an abundance of information, research and articles on continued competence, whether the topic is:

  • How continued competence is measured
  • How it can be improved
  • How best to increase and maintain competence

One definition of competence is the quality or state of having sufficient knowledge, judgment, skill or strength (as for a particular duty or in a particular respect).

Another definition describes competence as the quality of being competent — adequacy; the possession of required skill, judgment, qualification or capacity.

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Meet Wound Care Nurse and WCEI Instructor Anita Prinz

Wednesday, March 11th, 2020

A 10-year veteran of the fashion industry and Wall Street, Anita Prinz, MSN, RN, CWOCN, decided she needed a career change.

Attracted to the nursing profession, Prinz went to nursing school after working in other fields. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1995 at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, Calif.

Soon thereafter, she moved to New York City and worked as a visiting nurse in Manhattan while engaging in a unique mode of travel to visit her patients. “I rode my bicycle to see patients in the late 1990s,” she said.

After seeing numerous wounds in her home care patients and working with exceptional wound care nurses, Prinz said she felt called to learn more about wound care. So she pursued certification as a wound, ostomy and continence nurse.

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PT Embraces Passion for Wound Care Teaching

Tuesday, September 24th, 2019

For some people, teaching is in their blood and is a big part of who they are.

Scott Batie, MPT, RPT, MEd, WCC, a clinical instructor with our Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI) for 14 years, is one of those people.

He has been involved in the teaching profession for much of his life.

During college, Batie was a wrestler. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he taught high school English while coaching a high school wrestling team.

Batie realized he loved teaching and caring for others but wanted a change of pace and profession. After some thought and consideration, he decided to pursue a degree in physical therapy.

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Instructor Named 2019 WOC Nurse of the Year for Ostomy Care

Tuesday, June 25th, 2019

On June 23, alumni of the Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI) cheered to see a dedicated clinician, teacher and nursing entrepreneur receive recognition for her commitment to ostomy care and education.

The United Ostomy Association of America named WCEI Clinical Instructor Joy Hooper, RN, BSN, CWOCN, OMS, WCC, its WOC Nurse of the Year.

The prestigious award shines a spotlight on the many ways Hooper has touched lives with her commitment to teaching ostomy care.

“My father has always taught us the importance of helping people, and one of the most important people to help is the one you’re not expecting a thank you from or expecting anybody to know about,” Hooper said. “That is someone who you want to help. You won’t see this immediate reward, but you will be rewarded. UOAA and helping people have always been close to my heart.”

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Unique Journey to Wound Care Leads Nurse to Rewarding Career

Thursday, May 2nd, 2019

Meet clinical instructor Ann Avery, RN, CWCN, LN, WCC

Many of us can clearly remember the best instructors we had during our education and training as clinicians.

These are the ones who inspire us to learn — with the ability to make learning fun and relevant at the same time.

And if we’re lucky, we’ll continue to encounter great teachers even when taking continuing education units and specialty certification courses during our professional life.

One instructor who embodies the traits of a dedicated educator and has a passion for teaching others is Ann Avery, RN, CWCN, LN, WCC, one of our clinical instructors on wound care.

Avery, who has been with the Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI) since 2015, began working in wound care in 1971 as a new nurse assigned to care for an injured construction worker at a rehabilitation facility.

wound care

Ann Avery, RN, CWCN, LN, WCC

“My patient was a young male, only a year or so younger than me,” she said. “He was digging ditches and electrocuted on the job when his equipment hit a 500,000-watt cable. His wounds were severe with giant pieces of flesh having fallen out and bone exposed in some areas.”

After treating this patient’s chronic wounds for about three months, Avery realized she was hungry for more knowledge and skills regarding the provision of wound care.

“His suffering was so profound,” she said. “I began to search for more information and training regarding wound care.

Avery continued to work as a nurse and had a baby.

Focus remains through different roles

In 1984, she took her first exam to become certified in wound care through the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN). She passed, earning her first wound care certification — the Certified Wound Care Nurse (CWCN).

Armed with certification, Avery plunged even deeper into world of wound care as well as managing cases. However, with the advent of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) at the time, Avery said she found her work could sometimes be very frustrating.

When calling HMOs for authorization on acquiring new equipment or providing certain treatments for patients, many of her requests were denied.

After experiencing repeated episodes of hitting roadblocks for procuring insurance approvals for her patients, it provided the impetus for Avery to learn more about the law as it pertains to providing wound care.

She pursued studies to become a legal nurse consultant at the University of California at San Diego, completing her program in 1992.

“After becoming a legal nurse consultant, I could respond to insurance denials for my patients with, ‘Did you know that this is a standard of care?’ ” Avery said. “This is what the patient is entitled to. It was very rewarding to help patients in this way.”

Wound care certification not only fulfilled Avery’s desire to increase her knowledge and skills in wound care, it also opened many professional doors.

In addition to her clinical work with patients, Avery advanced in the corporate world, working as a sales consultant for wound care product companies, promoted to regional manager, had tenures in corporate accounts and sales with a clinical-outcomes focus.

Making the transition to education

Avery has worked with companies such as Hill-Rom, McKesson and Derma Sciences to name a few.

In addition to rehab nursing and numerous other wound care-focused roles, other clinical positions Avery has worked at over the years include working in post-anesthesia recovery, home health, hospice and private duty nursing.

Avery also has:

  • Developed wound care programs for various long-term care organizations.
  • Created continuous education courses pertaining to the legal aspects of wound care.
  • Written policies and procedures regarding wound care for major corporations.
  • Spoken at numerous professional wound care conferences, including our WOW (Wild on Wounds) Conference.

“I took the wound care course first, passed my exam, earned my WCC then became an instructor at WCEI,” Avery said, “I’ve also written blog posts for WCEI and well over 400 test questions and answers for the WCEI course exams.”

The commitment to help other wound care clinicians become the best caregivers possible is what keeps Avery in the teaching game, she said.

“I advise other wound care providers that if they are even slightly interested in getting certified, by all means go for it,” Avery said. “There is so much you can do with your certification professionally. I enjoy paying my knowledge forward to help providers make better treatment decisions and see improved outcomes for their wound care patients.”

Learn more about wound care today with one of our courses.