WEB WOC® On the Road: WOCNext

What a pleasure it was to attend the WOCNext 2022 Conference: A Global Education Event from WOCN® & WCET®, Fort Worth, Texas in PERSON! You heard me right, IN PERSON! YaaaHOOO! Being reunited with fellow WOC nurse colleagues to learn and reconnect is just what the doctor ordered to ReBoot and Reenergize all of our faculty’s WOC practices! Tasting local Texan cuisine, visiting a museum, and just gathering round the camp hot tub to ‘catch up’ are just a few examples of connection. It was a ‘Global Time to Shine’ for WEB WOC Programs!

WEB WOC® was also able to connect with current and past learners as well as preceptors during conference exhibit time! We heard countless stories in how WOC nurse specialist education has enhanced their professional nursing careers! Some even recorded ‘their story’ and noted how it “Changed my life!”! Alumnus imparted examples of the processes or projects they have initiated to promote a culture of safety and improve the care of the WOC patient. WEB WOC preceptors around the country shared accolades on our learner’s superior baseline knowledge demonstrated during the clinical practicum! Click Here to hear some of their stories! (pick one of the video’s)

Highlights during the conference including key note speaker Lee Rubin describing the 5 C’s (Competition, Common goals, Communication, Chemistry, & Consistency) in taking a great team to the next level of extraordinary; outlining of social determinants of health and how each of us can impact our patients’ and communities health in small ways with BIG returns; utilization of a rash algorithmic approach when evaluating cutaneous lesions; how to get your GUT healthy; the release of ICD-10 codes for MASD, and the implications of data management because numbers DO matter for personal and professional development plus much MORE.

Personal exhibit hall favorites included the debut of the breathable silicone ostomy barrier and pouches and digital solution to wound data challenge using smartphone and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to standardize measurement and documentation data. It not only takes a 3D wound picture but measures it (lxWxD), quantifies the amount of viable/non-viable tissue and provided ongoing ‘time-lapse’ data reports!

Our time sped by FAST as we celebrated our last evening together at the honky tonk River Ranch Stockyards with authentic rustic indoor/outdoor spaces, plenty of yummy Texas style food, beverages, a live band with WOC nurses doing the boot scootin’ boogie. Can’t wait till next year where we’ll be royalty at Caesar Palace, Las Vegas!