WOCTalk – Details, episodes & analysis

Episode Resources:

For resources mentioned in this episode, visit the links below.

• WOCNext® 2024 presentation, “Don’t Just ‘Go with the Flow’! Practice Update for the Management of High Output Fecal Ostomies” - available for on-demand viewing for registered attendee
• WOCN members-only communities for online networking threads and professional discussions

About the Speaker:

Tammy Lichtman, BSN, RN, CWON, is a seasoned CWON with 15 years of experience, including roles as Regional Wound and Ostomy Director for home health in Florida and owner of her own consulting business. Her background includes surgical nursing at the Cleveland Clinic and leadership positions at AdventHealth, where she managed the wound/ostomy program across multiple campuses.

Episode Resources:

For resources mention in this article, visit the links below:

Maura’s Abstract & ePoster: Skin Care Champion Program at a South Jersey Teaching Hospital's Progressive Care Unit

Alicia’s Abstract & ePoster: An Educational Intervention Differentiating Between Pressure Injuries and End-of-Life Wounds

WOCNext 2024 Pictures

WOCNext website

About the Guests:

Alicia Perez Varela has been a registered nurse since 2017 and earned her wound care certification in 2021. She attended WOCNext® for the first time in 2024. Alicia currently works at an outpatient advanced wound care and hyperbaric clinic and is also a member of the inpatient wound care team.

Maura Callahan has been a bedside nurse for 8 years, with experience in Long Term Care, Home Care, and Acute Care in the Progressive Care Unit as a Charge Nurse and Training Preceptor. She is passionate about Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Care and completed the Rutgers University-Camden Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing Education Program. This training has enabled her to support various units with care and education for patients, families, and caregivers. Maura is actively involved in her facility’s Skin, Wound Assessment Team, leads the Skin Care Champion Program, and recently joined the Hospital System's Pressure Injury Reduction Council.

Click here for details about the WOC N Roll Welcome Party at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 8. Purchase a ticket ahead of time through the WOCNext registration site.

Click here to listen to the WOCTalk episode with Destination Cleveland for insider tips on what to see and do in Cleveland.

Click here for a comprehensive list of things to do and places to eat in Cleveland.

Register to attend WOCNext in-person.

Register to attend WOCNext virtually.

Click here to download the WOCNext app.

About the Speaker:

Brooke Passy is a Certified Meeting Planner (CMP), Digital Event Strategist (DES), and is the Director of Meetings for the WOCN® Society.

On this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Meghan Smith, MSN, RN, AGACNP, CWOCN, Chair of the Education Committee for the WOCN® Society. Meghan discusses the committee’s process of content development in compliance with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide educational opportunities that help improve care and patient outcomes. The committee works hard to identify and fill gaps in wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) education across the continuum of care and lifespan of patients, to meet the educational needs of WOCN members, to provide different learning options for members, and more!

WOCN members have access to 60+ FREE Online Courses totaling 45+ Contact Hours, all of which provide Contact Hours and are housed in the Society’s Continuing Education Center (CEC).

Episode Resources

Visit the Continuing Education Center (CEC).

View all our Continuing Education Courses.

View all our Certification Review Courses.

View all our Bite Sized Learning courses.

To view a list of the WOCN Committee Chairs, click here.

To learn more about the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), click here.

On this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Ekta Vohra, BSN, RN, CWON, and Philip Chang, MD, FACS, of the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center--the only verified burn center in New York City. Their multidisciplinary team of burn care specialists includes doctors, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, nurses, critical care medicine specialists, physical and occupational therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, pharmacists, social workers, outreach coordinators, and disaster planners. Listen to learn more about their program, degrees of burns, burn prevention, identification, management, treatment, and healing, and how experience in wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) care provides a better understanding for the burn world and skin etiology.

Several brand-named products are mentioned throughout this episode. Please note: the WOCN® Society does not endorse or support products or services.

Episode Resources

To learn more about the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, click here.

To learn more about the American Burn Association, click here.

On this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Emilie Schlitt, BSN, RN, PCCN, CWOCN, Matthew Mossansen, MD-MPH, and Mary Willis, MS, RN, CWOCN, co-authors of a Merit Award winning poster in the Practice Innovation category at the WOCNext 2020 Reimagined event titled, “Empowering the Patient: Education and Preparation Prior to Cystectomy Surgery”. The co-authors discuss a preoperative prehabilitation educational class that was developed by urologic nurses and had input from a multidisciplinary team consisting of physicians, ostomy nurses, physical therapists, and nutritionists, and was also shaped by patient and caregiver input. During the class, patients and caregivers were prepped for cystectomy surgery with hands-on practice of stoma site marking, how to independently care for their ostomies, post-operative expectations, and more.

Other co-authors for this award-winning poster include:
Anne Fitzgerald, BSN, RN, and Juliet Starr, RN

Episode Resources
To view a description of the poster, “Empowering the Patient: Education and Preparation Prior to Cystectomy Surgery”, click here.

On this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Carole Bauer, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, OCN, CWOCN, Abstract Chair of the WOCN National Conference Planning Committee. Carole discusses the abstract process for WOCNext 2021, including helpful resources, advice on successfully submitting an abstract, conflict of interest, the difference between CE and non-CE posters, and how select authors will present posters during a session at WOCNext 2021.

WOCNext 2021 will take place from June 27-30, 2021, in Orlando, FL and will serve as a hybrid educational event featuring both online and in-person education, networking, and activities geared towards WOC nurses and other healthcare professionals dedicated to providing expert care to patients with wound, ostomy, and incontinence needs.

Abstract submissions for WOCNext 2021 will be accepted through November 2, 2020, at 11:00 AM EDT / 8:00 AM PDT. Abstracts should describe either a research study, case study or practice innovation. All submissions will be completed and submitted electronically. Selection of abstracts will be based solely on a blind peer review. All accepted abstracts will be published in a supplement of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing (JWOCN). Additional information can be found at wocnext.org/abstracts.

Episode Resources

Abstract Bite Sized Course: https://wocn.digitellinc.com/wocn/sessions/5642/view

Abstract Submission PowerPoint: https://www.slideshare.net/WOCNext/wocnext-2021-abstract-submission-instructions

Abstract Mentoring: Sometimes authors may have difficulty assimilating ideas into the abstract/poster format. WOCN offers those who desire additional support by connecting individuals with seasoned abstract/poster authors to review the abstract/poster content in progress or to answer questions. If interested in this opportunity, visit wocnext.org/abstracts for additional information.

On this episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Emilie Schlitt, BSN, RN, CWOCN, and Diane Bryant, RN, MS, CNS CWOCN, who work together at Brigham And Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Emilie and Diane share their experiences as a new WOC nurse and a preceptor and how they are working together during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through this time of uncertainty, WOCN is dedicated to providing our members and the greater healthcare community with the resources and education needed to practice with all the necessary precautions to keep yourselves and your patients safe. We are so grateful for all of our nurses on the front lines during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Many of you are finding yourselves practicing on the front lines, in your usual role of being called to work in another staff position. Thank you for unselfishly carrying out the duties required in this pandemic. For a list of COVID-19 related resources, visit wocn.org/covid-19/.

Have questions about precepting? Visit wocn.org/become-a-woc-nurse/preceptor-faqs/ for our frequently asked questions.

On this special bonus episode of WOCTalk, we sit down with Edward Beitz, Esquire. Ed focuses his practice on medical malpractice defense. He defends doctors, nurses, physicians assistants, and hospitals at the trial and appellate levels, as well as general liability matters. He has successfully defended numerous medical malpractice cases at trial involving complex issues of the human anatomy, such as cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, nursing care, obstetrical complications, nerve injury and vascular injury. Ed has also tried multiple cases to defense verdicts before arbitration panels in Philadelphia County. His practice has involved a wide range of other medical specialties, including, bariatric surgery, pain management and emergency medicine.

Ed has authored briefs on appellate issues in healthcare and coverage matters to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, The New Jersey Appellate Division and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He has also written and developed articles and presentations on emerging issues in medical malpractice, such as the increased relevance of electronic medical records in the context of civil litigation.

The focus of our discussion revolves around the recent WOCN Society webinar, “Don’t Write So That You Can Be Understood, Write So That You Can’t Be Misunderstood”: Medico-Legal Issues in WOC Nursing”. To view a recording of this webinar visit the webcasts section of the WOCN Society’s Continuing Education Center at wocn.org/cec.

This podcast and the webinar, “Don’t Write So That You Can Be Understood, Write So That You Can’t Be Misunderstood”: Medico-Legal Issues in WOC Nursingwere supported by Medela LLC. The WOCN Society does not endorse specific products or services. For a list of WOC patient products and services, please click here.

During this special bonus WOCTalk episode, we sit down with Janice M. Beitz, PhD, RN, CS, CNOR, CWOCN-AP, CRNP, MAPWCA, ANEF, FNAP, FAAN as she discusses the content of the recent webinar titled, “Jump Into Your Heavy Chevy For the Professional Development Road Trip: Bumps, Twists, and Fabulous Destinations.” During this discussion Janice explains target resume development, business technology including statistical analysis software, and the importance of specialty certification.  
 

This podcast and the webinar were supported by Medela LLC. The WOCN Society does not endorse specific products or services. For a list of WOC patient products and services, please click here.

To view a recording of the webinar, “Jump Into Your Heavy Chevy For the Professional Development Road Trip: Bumps, Twists, and Fabulous Destinations” visit the webcasts section of the WOCN Society’s Continuing Education Center at wocn.org/cec.

Episode Resources

Click here to view a list of Dr. Beitz’s resources and references.