WV_heart_RN

go to WOCN.org that is the society for wound ostomy and contience nurses. They have a listing of all the nurses around the country. You could contact from that list. On that website there is a list of preceptors and what programs they precept for but I am not sure how to navigate to it. I was in the members sections when I saw it. I would recommend you join if you are going to be a WOC nurse. I went through WEB WOC. THey will ask to join too. Good luck in the program. It moves very fast!

1. yes, you correct , the larger balloons can be irritating and lead to leaking. can you request a smaller catheter? in a long term dwell the patient should have a smaller balloon. when you go to ask take some stats with you. get info from wocn.org 2. yes, to the previous poster who said you have to fill the balloon up to the amount listed on the balloon. if you do not you risk the balloon laying incorrectly inside the bladder and irriating it and leading to leaking.

Bebop, I really tried to outline the program above. It really is completely onliine. The tests are hard but fair. If you have questions call up to the school and talk to them. It is a good program!

I forgot to add: The course info is available 24 hours a day so you can do your work when you want to do. I worked full time the whole time. Getting the reading done can be a little bit hairy though. You may need to take some PTO time to get your clinical time in. I did not and it cost me dearly!! I had to pay a hefty extension fee and now I have to wait to take the cert exam.

I did most of my work at night. There is one live class a week they stronly encourage you to be at. It is online and you listen and talk on your phone. It is interesting. My preceptor did not charge me but I knew her. Although I do not believe she would charge anyone. I have not take my national exam yet. Iwas late turning in my case study(another thing you have to do) so I missed the deadline. I will be sitting in January.

i just finished this program. it is very intensive! each course is three weeks. there is a large amount of reading to do in each class. weekly quizzes and a final at the end of each class. they require 50 hours of clinicals for each scope you are taking. are you going for just wounds or all three?

wow! i am so sorry you had this happen to you. first of all, if you were called into court on this you would be judged according to what they believe and entry level nurse should know and do. when you are new you make mistakes. you were sacrificed to make an unreasonable family happy and that is not the correct way to handle this situation. maybe you should have been warned to be more careful etc,..... get a little talking to ....but you are still a new nurse. your manager should be on your side. she should have sat with you and figured out how you made the mistake and how not to make it again. i guess i am trying to say that it should be a learning process for you. we all make mistakes and learn from them. don't kick yourself for to long. nobody is perfect!!

ok, being down in the dumps is perfectly normal. just a heads up: your manager probably knows already. with all the online verifications they can find out pretty quick. so dont sweat that. you are not the first person who didn't pass the after the second try. now, i have a friend who took their nclex many times. she just could not pass that thing but she never gave up. i really had to admire her for how she kept at it. it took her two years after we graduated to finally pass and get her rn. so you see. it can be done. find a teacher you trust or the director of your nursing program and ask if they can help you somehow. keep your chin up. you can do it!!

i worked for a hospice organization that had an np who did wound consults for them. we called her and she would go see that patient and give us recommendations for care. the trick was to get the products that the patient needed when the higher ups said you were using to many items on that one patient

i think shadowing your wc nurse is a great idea. it can be expensive to get the certification. when i started the classes the hospital i was working for paid for most of it. i had to leave there due to the gas prices. i am an hour and half away. so i am paying them back now. that is ok. the hospital i work for now does not have a woc nurse but they are aware of my pending certifications and have openly told me they were glad i am there. i have been slowly showing them how i can help the patients and the hospital. earning their trust kinda thing, which i would expect. once i get my certification i will be doing some work on my own too.

Hollister has what are called ' adapt barrier rings' They are flat or convex. Please do not use convex rings if the patient does not need them. Especially if this is a new surgery. Anyway, These rings are waxy and can be placed around the stoma to give you a flat working surface. They do work well. You may have to soften them before applying. There is also Adapt paste that can be used to fill in an uneven area. I have one patient whose incision went through her naval and the stoma was pulled through right above the naval. This caused her to leak all the time. We filled in her naval with the paste, let it harden until it was no sticky and BINGO! SHe has not leaked since then. LEt us know how it goes!

Please keep us informed. It sounds like he has a prolapsed stoma. That does happen sometimes. When there is a prolapse it is important to protect the stoma. He needs to be put into a one piece appliance. That will give a little extra protection. There are other things to looke at but we will see what your stoma nurse says.

Ask him why he is changing the appliance so often. Frequent changes can irritate the skin making it red. This can lead to the skin being a little 'weepy' and causing the appliance not to adhere to the skin as well. It can become a vicious cycle. So, we need to know a few things. 1. what type of stool does he have? 2. What kind of appliance does he use, 1 or 2 piece? 3. Where is he living? home, resident home? 4. What issues has he had with appliances in the past? This is where to start fixing his problem.

Try looking at www.WOCN.org and then click on the research button. There is a link on that page that may be helpful to you. Good luck! That is great what you are doing. I would love to see your results when you are done. SO, are you going to become WOC certified one day? I sure hope so!

Well, I have a couple of thoughts of what might be going on. 6-7 days w/ a transverse is a long time. It may be that her appliance is degrading and allowing her to leak underneath of it. If that is it then just decreasing her wear time may solve the problem. If her stoma has shrunk or changed sometimes an appliace change is warranted. One thing to look for is if the stoma is recessed instead of sticking out. If it is then she needs some type of convexity appliance. It helps the stoma to ' pop' out better. If her abdomen has dips and bends then you need to try something that will help you have a flat 'working surface' on which to place the appliance. I would say, right now, try the powder and skin prep suggestion along with not waiting so long to change the bag. You will be surprised to see how much improvement one day or even 12 hours without leaking will do. Let us know how she does.