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:

Beliefs Don’t Make Better Care, Behavior Does: Using Ostomy Guidelines in Clinical Practice

For far too long, ostomy care has been considered an art with little evidentiary base. However, the clinical landscape has changed with the advent of ostomy clinical guidelines and best practice documents. This session will describe available guidance with implications for clinical care. 

Contact Hours: 0.75 

Objectives: The learner will be able to describe extant ostomy care guidance documents and implications for improved clinical care.  

Speaker: Janice M. Beitz, PhD, RN, CS, CNOR, CWOCN-AP, CRNP, ANEF, FNAP, WOCNF, FAAN 

Session 2:

OstomY: The Why Surrounding the Ostomy

This session discusses why ostomies are necessary, included in this session are explanations for creation of ileostomies, colostomies and urostomies. Additional discussion includes pediatric ostomies. 

Contact Hours: 0.75 

Objectives: Discuss 3 reasons why an ostomy is created specifically for an ileostomy, colostomy and urostomy including adult and pediatric populations.  

Speaker: Debra Netsch, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, CNP, CWOCN-AP, CFCN 

Session 3:

Stoma Site Selection: Principles for Positive Outcomes

This session will review the evidence that supports pre-operative stoma site marking for the person undergoing a fecal or urinary diversion. The principles of stoma site marking will be presented with several case studies. The gap that this session is intended to solve is providing the attendee with the rationale for stoma site marking, and the ability to assist and/or suggest a stoma site location for the person undergoing stoma creation. 

Contact Hours: 0.75 

Objectives: The learner will be able to describe the rational for and the procedure for stoma site marking. 

Speaker: Janice C. Colwell, APRN, CWOCN, FAAN 

Session 4:

Stomal Complications

The physiological aspect of stomal complications is a significant problem for individuals with an ostomy and the person providing their ostomy care. Some of these complications occur early or late following the surgical creation of an ostomy. This session will focus on some of the more common stomal complications, factors that may contribute to their occurrence, how they may present themselves and their assessment. The session will also address management strategies of these stomal complications.

Contact Hours: 0.75

Objectives: The learner will be able to recognize and identify some of the more common stomal complications, as well as understand and apply management strategies as they relate to them.

Speaker: Virginia Hanchett, FNP, APRN-BC, DCNP, COCN, CWCN

Session 5: 

Convexity: Terminology and What to Use When

Understanding the latest terminology for appropriate convexity use is vital for clinicians to help promote a positive impact on ostomy patients’ quality of life. Convexity is needed in many difficult cases. Proper assessment is crucial to best determine appropriate selection and application of ostomy barriers/pouching systems for best wear time. By attending this session, learners will gain an understanding of the latest convexity terminology and how to utilize the latest consensus statements for convexity use in clinical practice. Thus, helping to support and have a positive impact on ostomy patients’ quality of life. 

Contact Hours: 0.75 

Objectives: The learner will be able to select and apply appropriate convexity in clinical practice, resulting in reliable pouching system wear time and improved quality of life. 

Speaker: Sue Bruch, MS, RN, ARNP, ACNP-BC, CWOCN, CFCN; Amy Folk, BSN, RN, CWON 

Session 6:

Nutrition: How to Stay Your Best

This session will focus on gas and odor causing foods, how food can impact output, and understanding fiber and hydration. 

Contact Hours: 0.5 

Objectives: The learner will understand how food can impact ostomy output.  

Speaker: Michelle Pasia, MPH, RD 

Session 7:

Top Concerns for Ostomy Patients and Transitions of Care

Ostomy surgery the patient to master new skills and to adapt to major changes in body image; as a result, patients undergoing ostomy surgery have many questions and concerns! Patients typically spend only a few days in acute care before transitioning to the post-acute care setting, and many nurses in post-acute care lack the essential knowledge to effectively address patient issues. This session will address the essential information needed to answer questions and to promote patient adaptation and will also include resources available for patients and clinicians. 

Contact Hours: 0.75 

Objectives: Participants will identify major concerns for ostomy patients and will describe essential information to be provided in response, as well as resources available to both patients and clinicians.  

Speaker: Dorothy Doughty, MN, RN, CWOCN, FAAN 

Session 8:

Contemporary Conversations: Intimacy and Sexuality

This session will discuss the importance of having therapeutic conversations pertaining to intimacy and sexuality with patients post ostomy surgery and some techniques and language you can use for success. Following the presentation of the didactic material, listen to our speaker interview a patient who had ostomy surgery and discuss some of the psychosocial aspects of recovery, particularly intimacy and sexuality. 

Contact Hours: 0.75 

Objectives: Following this activity, learners will report increased confidence in being able to discuss the psychosocial aspects of living with an ostomy as they progress through recovery and adaptation.  

Speakers:  

• Christine Berke, APRN-NP, CWOCN-AP 
• Joseph Glassbrenner, Ulcerative Colitis Patient 

Session 9:

Peristomal Skin Assessment Guide (PSAG): Using the Updated PSAG Algorithm

WOCN’s web-based clinical decision support tool for peristomal skin assessment (PSAG) has been updated with more diverse reference photographs, more supportive evidence, and less manufacturer visibility. Attend this interactive session to become familiar with the new tool and leave knowing you can confidently refer to psag.wocn.org for support in helping ostomy patients with damage to peristomal skin. 

Contact Hours: 1.00 
 
Objectives: Participants will identify key elements of assessment of peristomal skin and describe basic interventions for 4 common problems. 

Speaker: Terran Sims, MSN, ACNP-C, CNN, COCN