Transition into Wound Care

[Brie Iman]

Hello all,

I am currently working in Houston in the Medical Center on a Cardiac Telemetry unit in my nursing residency program. I finish up my year in July and really want to transition into wound care. I was wondering on how I would best tackle this.

I have seen that some individuals begin by working in a SNF or LTAC, but I would love to have the ability to refer to a mentor within my facility until I become more comfortable in my abilities. Eventually, I would like to become a wound care nurse in the acute care hospital setting.

I want to eventually pursue my WOCN, but I do not currently have that certification. How should I transition into this new field without pigeonholing myself to only working in a SNF?

Thank you,

Brie, RN

[meggiepie24, BSN]

I would stick to your hospital job for awhile. You definitely need a good background in nursing before specializing in wound care. Highly recommend looking into the Emory WOCN online program. I believe you have to have one year of experience in order to just start the program. The entire program is 1 year long. If your hospital offers tuition reimbursement start the program in the fall (I started in August) so the hospital will completely pay for the program between the two calendar years. Usually hospitals will make you stay for a year or two after the last tuition payment. You will have to find people who you can do clinical with before you start the program. Good luck!