Did you know that NOVA has a partnership with the Wound Care Education Institute? In addition to providing certification and education to RNs and APRNs, the Wound Care Institute offers opportunities for the LPN community.

 

How Wound Care Certification Can Help LPNs and LVNs Improve Care Outcomes

According to current active wound care clinicians, LPNs/LVNs with wound care experience are needed in different healthcare settings. 

The lack of standardized, pervasive wound care training for clinicians sets the foundation for why clinicians working with patients with wounds should seek certification in wound care, according to Bill Richlen, PT, WCC, DWC, one of the Wound Care Education Institute’s (WCEI) clinical wound care instructors.

“The wound care industry generally lacks enough knowledgeable clinicians to handle the challenges of chronic wounds. This is mainly because comprehensive wound care training is rarely included during college training of all disciplines – this includes MDs, NPs, PAs, RNs, PTs, and LPNs/LVNs,” Richlen said. 

Richlen advises that any clinician working on a day-to-day basis in wound care should strongly consider enrolling in formal wound care training before becoming wound care certified (WCC). 

WCC benefits are abundant

Regenia Butler, RN, WCC, DWC, a telemetry nurse and member of the hospital-wide skin prevalence team at Methodist Health System in Dallas believes strongly in nurses becoming wound care certified.

“Not only did our team learn a lot about wound care [during training], which greatly benefited our patients, we saw our business increase as a result, Butler said. “We received more referrals from physicians due to our staff being wound care certified.”

And according to Butler, WCEI from Relias is the top choice for clinicians seeking wound care certification. “The WCEI website and the Wound Central Journal are some of my go-to resources to help educate fellow nurses and others on the latest evidence-based treatments for the types of wounds we’re discussing. This helps to convince reluctant providers who are practicing in outdated ways that I’m qualified to recommend the best care for our patients.”

For Stephanie Mansfield, LVN, WCC, DWC, an added benefit has been the increase in her marketability as a nurse. Mansfield is a wound care coordinator at Willow Bend Nursing and Rehabilitation in Mesquite, Texas and a home health wound care nurse for Bridgeway Health Services in Fort Worth, Texas.

“I took two courses and have two certifications from the WCEI and since then, I’ve had more opportunities,” remarked Mansfield. “And WCEI cares about nurses, PTs and physicians. They want us to learn, and if they don’t have an answer to a question, they’ll get it for you.”

WCEI continues to support alumni 

Providing ongoing education for our alumni is very important to us, said Janene Brubaker, WCEI senior product manager.

“From our seminars, webinars, and Wound Central Journal to our Facebook group , we believe in staying connected with our alumni to support their ongoing quest for knowledge and positive outcomes for their patients,” Brubaker said.

Start learning more about wound care today with one of our many accredited courses.