How to break into wound care nursing.

[dudette10]

I had a revelation. I love wound care.

I currently work telemetry, and I get a lot of satisfaction out of wound care, dressing changes, reading up on why the wound care RN ordered this treatment over that treatment, etc. I spent a day orienting in my hospital's outpatient wound center, and the patients were extremely complimentary of the care they received. There is also a lot of autonomy, especially for the certified RN who also has sharp debridement certification.

How do you break into it, though? So many places want wound and ostomy certified nurses, but I know you have to have a LOT of hours of wound care before you can sit for the exam, so nurses are getting the necessary experience somewhere. If I were to apply for a non-certified wound care position in the future, how could I present myself as qualified for the position, if I've only done wound care in an acute setting?

I can see myself becoming a wound care nurse in the next five years or so, if only I knew how to get there. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Penandpaper, BSN]

On 5/21/2012 at 9:30 AM, jenornwccdwc said:

Hi,

I am always so happy to hear when other nurses are interested in wound care! It truly is a passion of mine too!:redbeathe

I have been a wound care certified nurse for 6 years now, but when I first started to look at getting certified I found out that I was not "qualified" to take most of the wound care certification courses because I only had my associates degree RN, most required a BSN. I was so frustrated because as an RN, I was just as good as the BSN nurses I worked with, and often my assessment skills were even better!! I , very in depth certification class that prepares you to sit for the exam given the National Alliance of Wound Care. Passing this exam gives you the credential WCC (wound care certified) and it is open to all MD’s, PA’s, NP’s, RN’s, LPN’s, PT’s, OT’s as well!!

Meeting the "hours" (experience) is not that difficult if you have a "hands on" job. Also, they offer a "preceptor pathway" (my LPN did this) where you can take the class and then work with a wound care clinician to get the required hours and then take the exam once you have met the requirement. It worked well for her, she had the education and then when we put it all into practice at the patient’s bedside, it all came together for her! It was great!

I work have always worked in LTC and now I am even able to do consulting on the side. I can't say enough good things about the course and how it helped my facility but also my career too! Our facility even sent another RN and LPN to get certified too! There are tons of WCC's out there and the networking is awesome!

Good luck to you

Which course did you take?

There are many avaliable online but I don't know which is best vs. the other.