President's Message

Welcome to 2024! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season spent with friends and family and are as excited as I am for the upcoming year. I want to start by thanking each of you for the amazing heartfelt work you do each and every day for the patients we serve. The WOCNCB’s mission has always been to promote the highest standards of patient care and safety in the areas of wound, ostomy, continence and foot care nursing, and you are the proof of why our credentials are considered the Gold Standard in each of our specialty areas.

I have proudly served this organization for many years in a variety of roles, and it is truly and honor and a privilege to begin my term as the President of the WOCNCB. This organization and what we do to improve patient care is my passion! Those of you that have served as one of our volunteers know how rewarding the experience can be. If you have not volunteered to serve, you don’t know what you are missing! Being part of a team of passionate professionals dedicated to improving lives and assuring that our certifications maintain the highest standards is an experience that will enrich your life and career. This organization depends on volunteers to continue the work we do so I encourage you to join us!

With that said, we will all sadly miss our outgoing President Jessica Simmons. Jessica has been an amazing President and has led the Board with grace and passion. She, along with our outgoing Immediate Past-President Micheal Kingan, led this organization through trying times of the pandemic, and we have come out on the other side even stronger! During her tenure we have seen history made with our 45th Anniversary and our 10,000th certificant. We also made some historic changes to the Professional Growth Program (PGP) that begin this year. I thank you, Jessica, for your leadership and dedication to our organization.

We also say goodbye to board members Jonathan Smith, who led the Foot Care Exam Committee as the Board Liaison, and Jeanine Gleba, our Public Member. We thank both of you for your service and dedication. You will be missed! And to all our outgoing committee members, I personally thank you for your service and dedication to our profession. You truly make a difference!

We welcome our newest board members, Sandy Fasing, MSN, RN, CWOCN, ACNS-BC, and Molly McPeek, RN, BSN. Sandy will serve as the Board Liaison for the WOC Exam committee, and Molly is our new Public Member and will serve as liaison to the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee. To all of our incoming committee members, I thank you for volunteering and I am excited for you!

As previously mentioned, the updated PGP program is officially active. If you haven’t checked it out, I encourage you to do so. This revamped process was long overdue and was designed with you in mind to streamline the process and make it less stressful. Take advantage of the resources available on our website to familiarize yourself with the new process and answer questions you may have.

And finally, thank you to our fantastic office staff! Cindy Lemek, Executive Director, Ashleigh Labbe, Administrative Manager, Lisa Obradovic, Marketing Manager, and Kathy Meyer, Certification Manager, are the Dream Team and keep this organization running smoothly. We couldn’t do this without them; they make all of our big ideas and dreams come to fruition.

So get ready for a great 2024! Buckle up, we have many more exciting changes and endeavors in the works. It’s going to be a fun ride!

Warm regards,

Clay Collins, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, CWOCN, CFCN
WOCNCB® President

What's New?

2024 WOCNCB Board of Directors

In October, the WOCNCB Board of Directors and many committees met in-person in Denver, Colorado. Above from left to right : Clay Collins, Holly Hovan, Sarah Erslev, Jessica Simmons, Laura Swoboda, Sandy Fasing, Alex Aningalan, Cathy Harmon, Kathryn Khandaker. Not present: Linda S. McKenna and Public Member Molly McPeek. Click here for more information on the current Board of Directors.

Helping Hands

Thank you WOCNCB® 2023 Volunteers!

WOCNCB® is thankful for all those who donate their time to board or committee service. There are so many that contribute to the success of this organization. We would like to give our heartfelt thanks to these volunteers!

PGP Update

In January, new PGP requirements launched that make more nurses eligible to recertify without taking an exam!

Join WOCNCB volunteers for PGP Office Hours, where you can ask questions in real time and learn more about the PGP process and resources.

Join Zoom Meeting:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83685619793?pwd=Y1hqaGlvQStYaU9rRlNMQkR3ZE5JUT09

Meeting ID: 836 8561 9793
Passcode:  411130

Check out the new PGP resources available on our website: the 2024 PGP Handbook, PGP FAQs, short tutorial videos and WOCNCB Certification Inspiration podcast New Streamlined PGP Requirements – What you Need to Know!

Updated CWCN, COCN and CCCN Mobile Apps!

In November, the Official WOCNCB Wound, Ostomy and Contience mobile flash card apps were updated and have new questions. Each flash card app contains 200 questions developed from the Exam Content Outlines with answers, detailed explanations, and references to help you prepare for your exam! The app includes a quiz builder to allow you to build your own custom quiz, detailed results tracking to flag your weak areas for further review and much more! Purchase directly from our website.

Award

Nominate Your Employer for WOCNCB Employer Recognition Award

The WOCNCB® Employer Recognition Award is awarded annually to honor an organization that has demonstrated exemplary support of the certification process in WOC nursing.

To nominate your employer:

• Only current WOCNCB® Certificants can nominate an organization.
• The application and full details on the submission guidelines can be found on the WOCNCB® website.

Accepting nominations through February 15, 2024

Congrats to Lynette Gunn APRN, GCNS-BC, CWCN, CFCN

A GREAT 100 NURSES HONOREE!

Congrats to E. Lynette Gunn, APRN, GCNS-BC, CWCN, CFCN a Great 100 Honoree awarded by the Great 100 Nurses Foundation! Nurses are selected based on their concern for humanity, contributions to the profession of Nursing, and mentoring of others. Pictured above: Lynette center, with son Duan Morris and daughter Elizabeth Hill at the recognition ceremony. Learn more.

Share your Accomplishments!

WOCNCB^® would like to recognize our certificants for their accomplishments! If you have an achievement that you are especially proud of, or if you know a colleague who does, let WOCNCB^® know!  We are dedicated to highlighting the successes of our incredible nurses through social media, email updates and newsletters.

Save The Date

Learn the latest diagnostic and treatment strategies for comprehensive wound management. The program is multidisciplinary with faculty representing various wound-related fields. Multiple educational formats are used, including didactic sessions, hands-on demonstrations, and case presentations that offer comprehensive wound-management strategies (from basics to high-level). Up to 19 CEs offered. Learn more.

Look for WOCNCB^® at these upcoming 2024 conferences:

• AMSUS-The Society of Federal Health Professionals: February 12-15 in National Harbor, MD. Learn more.
• NPIAP Annual Conference: February 16-17 in in San Antonio, TX. Learn more.
• SAWC Spring: May 14-18 in Orlando, FL. Learn more.
• WOCNext: June 9-12 in Cleveland, OH. Learn more.
• ANCC Magnet Conference® and Pathway to Excellence Conference®: October 30-November 1 in New Orleans, LA. Learn more.

Reminder: WOCNCB & WOCN Society are two separate entities. If you have questions regarding membership or education credit, contact info@wocn.org.

Wishing you a Healthy and Happy 2024!

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