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Specialties Wound

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Hi;

As you can see from my alias I'm fairly new to nursing (about 2.5 years) though I have worked med/surg and floated ICU. Have been interested in ostomy and wound care for years based on a personal family experience. Does it make finding a job as a WOC nurse easier to have the certification up front or is that next to useless without having the experience (beyond what one is exposed to in med/surge).

Any recommendations are appreciated.

Thank you.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN

1 Article; 20,908 Posts

Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Certifications always help! And it shows ambition as well as inciative. Good Luck!

3PRN

23 Posts

Check out the web page of the Wound, Ostomy, Continence Nurse Society (WOCN.org). You'll find lots of information on the various programs including WEBWOC, the online program. To sit for the exam(s), you will need a BSN and have completed a program. I will never regret my WOC education. My peers thought I was crazy taking off to Texas to learn about wounds and ostomies. It's the best thing I ever did as a nurse and I can honestly say I love my job! BTW, most hospitals will require certification or that you are in the process of completing a program. Let us know what you decide.

AprettynewRN

21 Posts

Thank you very much. I know most nurses I know also say yuk and think I'm crazy also. They just don't get how interesting wound care etimology and treament is, not to mention with all the superbugs emerging, how needed. And I guess nobody enjoys ostomy care but to me a family experience makes me want to help people adjust to what is (to them) a horrific self-image experience.

I have an ASN, a Bachelors in another field and am completing a Masters... drat..

Hello from the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board (WOCNCB) We are so pleased you are passionate about Ostomy and Wound Care and are looking at certification.

As a certification board, we can't speak to how easy it is to find a job with or without certification, but I can say that overall, the WOCNCB certified nurses earn more than their uncertitifed colleagues.

To become certified by the WOCNCB, RNs must pass a 90 question certification exam for each specialty (W, O &/or C).

Nurses show their eligibility for certification by having an active RN license, have completed a bachelors degree, and having completed educational programs accredited by the Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN®) or meeting "experiential pathway" criteria. Nurses choose their eligibility path based on time, location, cost of the programs, family situation, etc.

The "experiential pathway" requires 50 CEs/CMEs earned within the last 5 years , PLUS 1500 direct patient contact hours withing the last 5 years , (375 within the year prior to application.) So, hands on experience is really important for nurses who don't attend an educational program.

Why all this work - the ed program or the "pathway"? Because the WOCNCB wants the applicants to pass exams - and this amount of work & study leads to successful test taking!

for more info about certification, go to Home - Wound Care Certification - WOCNCB

for info about the education programs, go to Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN)

Good luck!

Marketing Manger - WOCNCB

HI - some of the education programs don't reqire "BSN" - just a Bachelors - so look closely at each program.

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