Advanced Practice Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Exams

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS for ADVACNED PRACTICE WOUND, OSTOMY, and CONTINENCE EXAMS

ALL INITIAL CERTIFICATIONS ARE BY EXAM

To be eligible for WOCNCB Advanced Practice certification you must fulfill the following requirements:

1. Hold a current RN license and/or APN license. (A copy of the current license must be submitted with your application.)
2. Have completed a MSN or higher nursing degree program to become an APRN (NP, CNS, NMW, and CRNA). (A copy of diploma and transcripts must accompany application.)
3. Fulfill ONE of the following requirements to document basic Wound, Ostomy, and/or Continence knowledge:
   1. Current entry-level WOCNCB certification in the specialty or specialties for which Advanced Practice certification is desired.
   2. Accredited Education Program Pathway (Fulfill ALL of the following requirements)
      1. Complete a WOC Nursing Education Program that is accredited by WOCN.
      2. Candidates are required to successfully complete exam(s) within five years of graduation from a Wound, Ostomy, Continence Education Program.
      3. The Nursing Education Program must be accredited at the time of graduation.
      4. A copy of your certificate of completion/graduation must be submitted with your application. Please contact an accredited program for more information.
   3. Experiential Pathway (Fulfill ALL of the following requirements)
      1. For each specialty for which certification is sought, 50 CE/CME credits (contact hours) or an equivalent in college course work must be completed over the five years previous to the date of application. All CE/CME credits (contact hours) or college course work must directly apply to the specialty area for which applied. Multi-day conferences may include professional practice topics or may be focused on a specific type of treatment i.e. hyperbaric oxygen (HBO). Professional practice topics do not relate directly to any clinical focus and are not accepted. HBO education pro­grams receive partial credit but are usually not accepted in their entirety.
      2. For each certification specialty, 1500 practice hours specialty-specific in your WOC, or AP-WOC role. The role can be in any work setting (Acute Care, Ambulatory Care, Long Term Care, Home Care, Academics, Administrative, Industry and Independent Practice) and hours must be completed within the previous five years. If you are applying for wound, ostomy, and continence, a total of 4500 practice hours are needed. Further, 375 hours must have occurred within the year prior to application, or a total of 1125 if you are applying for wound, ostomy, and continence.
      3. Accumulation of contact and practice hours must be earned post-Bachelor's and while functioning as an RN.
      4. To track your CE and practice hours, click here.

Upon passing the exam(s), individuals receive a CWOCN-AP^®, CWON-AP^®, CWCN-AP^®, CCCN-AP^SM, or COCN-AP^® credential. Certification must be re-established every five years.

Note: Full eligibility information and instructions regarding documentation required for the Experiential Pathway are outlined in the Candidate Examination Handbook. The Candidate Handbook is a 56 page document.