National Alliance of Wound Care
The National Alliance of Wound Care, in cooperation with the New Jersey Hospital Association's Institute for Quality and Patient Safety and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, announced it is sponsoring an initiative to expand the number of wound care-certified professionals through the creation of the New Jersey Wound Care Certification Initiative. This new initiative was borne of the idea of making quality skin and wound care education available to nurses who deliver care to patients in nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living, and in-home health settings. The educational program for the new New Jersey Wound Care Certification Initiative will be delivered by the Wound Care Education Institute, Inc.
[black up pointing small triangle] Information:http://www.nawccb.org
American Professional Wound Care Association
The American Professional Wound Care Association (APWCA) motto is "Synergy of Disciplines in Wound Care" and reflects this association's philosophy and its membership (wound care providers of all disciplines) working together and will continue to allow the APWCA to be of benefit to its members and all wound care team members. All disciplines are encouraged to join this fast-growing multidisciplinary membership organization for education, representation to the insurance industry, and, most important, seeking best care practices and outcomes for patients. The APWCA is independent and multidisciplinary at its core and answering only to the needs of its membership. The APWCA encourages all those interested from all disciplines to inquire about membership and the many benefits the organization provides. Some examples of the multifaceted APWCA's activities follow:
* The APWCA Web site provides information for the wound care community at large. This includes a white paper on establishing and maintaining a viable wound care center or practice, which is a short, approximately 12-page monograph in outline format. The document received input from more than 50 wound care providers, many of whom are medical directors and other related staff of wound care centers.
* At the time of this writing, the association has enrolled approximately 70 volunteer members to provide wound care relief services to Haiti. The APWCA is working with other organizations to coordinate services and distribution of supplies and material. Further information on this can be found on the Web site.
* The APWCA National Clinical Conference 2010 included poster and oral abstracts on a variety of topics. The abstract summaries presented during the 2010 conference and those abstracts from previous years can be found on the Abstract Archives (for abstracts presented 2007 through 2010) on the APWCA Web site.
* The association is proud to have published a guidance document, "SELECT: Evaluation and implementation of Clinical Practice Guidelines-A Guidance Document from the American Professional Wound Care Association" in the April issue of this MEDLINE-indexed journal. This is a significant contribution to the wound care literature because it provides a simple methodology that can be used by wound healing centers, hospitals, long-term-care facilities, and other organizations as a tool to help select, implement, and assess the effectiveness of a clinical practice guideline into the treatment protocol of the facility. Although there have been other publications on this topic, they are large and voluminous in nature. The implementation of a practice guideline is important and is becoming more widely used because they can streamline patient care, provide tools to access treatment costs and effectiveness, improve patient outcomes, and may, at times, reduce liability. For additional information and to obtain a copy of the manuscript, visit the APWCA Web site, or contact the APWCA office.
* The APWCA believes it offers extremely reasonable dues and has been the recipient of significant growth since its inception in April 2001. Although the association membership represents the largest number of prescribing physicians and podiatrists, it is currently seeking new members in all fields of medicine that are contributors to the wound care team.
[black up pointing small triangle] Information:http://www.apwca.org; phone: 215-364-4100; e-mail: [email protected]
Council for Medical Education and Testing
The Council for Medical Education and Testing (CMET) is the only physician-specific wound care certifying organization in the United States. Wound care certification is becoming increasingly in demand by hospitals and wound healing centers. The examination was developed by physicians in active wound care. It was field- and beta-tested multiple times to reflect the realities of daily current practice. It is not a trivia test but rather a knowledge assessment tool for wound care diagnosis and management. Successful completion provides the distinction of "Physician Certified in Wound Care-CMET." The resources for review, dates and location of the upcoming examinations, and other related information can be found on the Web site.
The next testing dates and locations are on Sunday, October 3, in conjunction with the Clinical Symposium for Advances in Skin & Wound Care in Nashville, Tennessee; mid-November in the New York City area; late February 2011 in Los Angeles, California; and April 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Details on dates and locations can be found on the Web site. Registration information and resources for study can also be found on the CMET Web site.
The CMET examination is endorsed by the American Professional Wound Care Association and recognized by the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine. The council intends this to be a first step to obtain specialty recognition in wound care, which has traditionally been accomplished by physician-specific organizations.
[black up pointing small triangle] Information:http://www.COUNCILmet.org; e-mail: [email protected]; phone: 215-364-1111