Continuing Education Credits

Learn how to prevent and manage your patients' peristomal skin complications.

WOCN Continuing Education Series for Contact Hours

Educating Today for Exceptional Outcomes Tomorrow

WOCN is proud to collaborate with Hollister Incorporated to present Educating Today for Exceptional Outcomes Tomorrow, a program that helps advance the practice of wound, ostomy, and continence (WOC) specialty nurses. Through this generous and unwavering support, WOCN is able to offer resources and educational opportunities for members and non-members alike, each with a special focus on increasing outcomes for clinicians and their patients, fostering professional growth, and advancing the evidence-based WOC nursing practice.

Session 1:
Welcome & Don't Want to Myth a Thing: Ostomy Science and Research About Living With An Ostomy

For decades, health care professionals and the general public have had misconceptions about ostomy surgery. Tradition has guided recommendations for ostomy management. With the advent of evidence-based practice, ostomy science has accelerated. This presentation will synthesize themes and findings from current ostomy research about living with a diversion.

0.50 Contact Hours

Speakers:

• Janice M. Beitz, PhD, RN, CS, CNOR, CWOCN-AP, CRNP, ANEF, FNAP, FAAN, Professor of Nursing and WOCNEP Director, Rutgers University Camden
• Dea J. Kent, DNP, RN, NP-C, CWOCN, Assistant Professor/Director of NP Program, Indiana University Kokomo

Session 2:
Best Practice of Peristomal Skin Health

What is peristomal skin health and what does that mean for me---the WOC nurse? How can I promote healthy peristomal skin and minimize peristomal skin complications in individuals who have an ostomy? This session will describe practical implementation of peristomal skin best practices.

0.50 Contact Hours

Speaker:

• Joyce Pittman, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FNP-BC, CWOCN, FAAN, Associate Professor, University of South Alabama

Session 3:
Product Selection: The Journey To "Best Fit"

Navigating the plethora of pouching systems and accessories available can be overwhelming. Research confirms that leakage is a significant factor in Quality of life when living with an ostomy. Therefore, finding the right fit is paramount but not without its challenges. This session will review the principles of pouching, some of the research and consensus statements available and offer tips on choosing the right system. Join us as we explore how to meet the challenges of attaining a good seal and ultimately impact the quality of life for those living with an ostomy.

1.25 Contact Hours

Speaker:

• Janet Stoia Davis, RN, CWOCN, CFCN, Consultant, Stoia Consultants

Session 4:
Return to Life: Focus: Nutrition and Activity

This session will focus on creative approaches to integrating nutritional health and resuming activity post ostomy surgery. Providing this focused ostomy education to a diverse group of healthcare consumers may provide various challenges and opportunities. This session will highlight interventions applicable to healthcare consumers in the context of those who are culturally, socially, economically and geographically diverse.

0.50 Contact Hours

Speaker:

• Cecilia Zamarripa, PhD, MSN, RN, CWON, Wound, Ostomy, Continence Nurse, UPMC Presbyterian

Session 5:
Return to Life: Focus: Sex and Intimacy

Attend this session for “news you can use” in patient education. It is recognized that ostomy surgery has an effect on intimacy and sexuality. Patients and their partners often hesitate to ask members of their care team questions pertaining to sexuality and seek information from other sources that can be less reliable. This session will give guidance for initiating a therapeutic discussion on intimacy and sexuality and provide some limited information to confidently pass along to both patient and partner.

0.75 Contact Hours

Speaker:

• Margaret Goldberg, MSN, RN, CWON, WOC Nurse, Delray Wound Treatment Center

Session 6:
"X" Marks the Spot: Guidelines for Stoma Site Marking

Rehabilitative care for the ostomy patient begins with preoperative stoma site marking. Selection of an optimal site for the stoma significantly enhances the ability to establish a secure pouching system, which is foundational to quality of life. However, many patients do not receive preop stoma site marking because there is no one on staff who has been taught the principles and procedure. This session will focus on guidelines for stoma site marking.

1.0 Contact Hours

Speaker:

• Dorothy Doughty, MN, RN, CWOCN, FAAN, WOC Nurse Instructor and Clinician, Emory University

Session 7:
Knowledge Transfer/Teaching: Plans, Priorities and Preferences

Patients undergoing ostomy surgery need an enormous amount of information in order to function safely following surgery. Changes in healthcare systems have led to shorter hospital stays with less opportunity to provide the needed didactic and hands-on practice. Information must be prioritized and resources provided for ongoing education at a pace where the patient can absorb it. This session will assist the care provider to plan, prioritize, and present the needed information in a useable format and appropriate timeframe.

1.0 Contact Hours

Speaker:

• Stephanie Yates, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, CWOCN, WOC Nurse Practitioner, Duke University Hospital Cancer Center

Session 8:
The Peristomal Skin Assessment Guide (PSAG) Decision Support Tool: We’ve Got This!

Peristomal skin complications are very common. Unfortunately, those with ostomies often do not recognize them. The Peristomal Skin Assessment Guide (PSAG) was developed to assist those with or caring for someone with an ostomy in the identification of peristomal skin complications, provide guidance for initial treatment recommendations, and advise when a referral to an ostomy specialist is needed.

1.25 Contact Hours

Speaker:

• Margaret Goldberg, MSN, RN, CWON, WOC Nurse, Delray Wound Treatment Center