The WOCN Society 40th Annual Conference (June 21-25th, 2008)


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Collaboration of Community Hospital CWOCNs with a CCNE Accredited Baccalaureate Nursing Program: Educating Nursing Students in Basic Wound, Ostomy, Continence Principles and Evaluating the Impact on the Nursing Practice of BSN Graduates

Beth Rowden, BSN, RN, CWOCN1, Carrie A. Carls, BSN, RN, CWOCN1, Nancy Chatham, BS, RN, CWOCN2, Mary Anthony, MSN, RN3, Susan Beard, BS, RN, CWOCN1, and JoEllen Brannan, PhD, RN, CNE4. (1) Passavant Area Hospital, Wound Ostomy Continence Nurse, 1600 West Walnut, Jacksonville, IL 62650, (2) Passavant Area Hospital, Director, Passavant Wound Ostomy Continence Services, 1600 West Walnut, Jacksonville, IL 62650, (3) MacMurray College, Associate Professor of Nursing, 447 East College Avenue, Jacksonville, IL 62650, (4) MacMurray College, Director and Professor of Nursing, 447 East College Avenue, Jacksonville, IL 62650

Purpose:  WOCNs have specialized knowledge that impacts the quality of care patients receive.  Teaching basic WOC principles to baccalaureate nursing students may improve the quality of care their patients receive once they enter practice.  Community Hospital CWOCNs taught baccalaureate nursing students a class on Basic Skin and Wound Care and Pressure Ulcer Prevention during their sophomore year, Ostomy Management during their junior year, and Comprehensive Wound Care during their senior year beginning spring semester, 2000.  The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the education and student’s perceived impact on their nursing practice after graduation.

Methodology:  Surveys will be mailed in January of 2008 to graduates of the baccalaureate nursing program who have attended at least one of the WOC classes.  The survey will gather demographic data, type of facility the nurse practices in, type of patients the nurse cares for, percentage of patients the nurse encounters with WOC related diagnoses, recall of information taught in the WOC classes, and impact on their nursing practice.  Data will be analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the CWOCN educational program: its perceived impact on nursing practice and patient outcomes.  The results will be presented at the conference.

Conclusion:  The authors hypothesize that a CWOCN educational program provided during nursing school can positively impact the graduate nurse, resulting in knowledge and skills to better serve patients.  The survey will serve not only as a tool to improve future education of nursing students, but to further justify the multidimensional role that CWOCNs play in promoting quality WOC care by collaborating with a baccalaureate nursing program.


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