In This Issue of JWOCN

Issue 2 of volume 40 extends our celebration of 40 years of excellence as the official journal for WOC nursing practice. This issue opens with a commentary from Deputy Editor Dorothy Doughty, who reflects on the past, present, and preferred future of WOC nursing education. As long-time Director of the Emory University WOCNEP, Dorothy's insights into this ongoing cornerstone of our specialty practice easily qualifies as a must-read commentary for every WOC nurse who is certified or wishes to seek specialty certification.

Donna Bliss, Bonnie Westra, Kay Savik, and Yuefeng Hou report the second of their articles focusing on the effectiveness of WOC nurses as compared to nonspecialty nurses when managing wound, incontinence, and urinary tract infections in the home health care setting. This article compares the direct influence of WOC nursing care on patients with wounds (pressure ulcers, lower extremity ulcers, and surgical site infections), urinary or fecal incontinence, and urinary tract infections in the home health care setting. It also qualifies as must read for any WOC nurse seeking to provide further evidence of the positive impact our practice exerts in the home health care setting, despite the tendency to assign only the most severe cases.

This issue's Wound Care section opens with an integrative review of biofilms in chronic wounds authored by Beth Hawkins Bradley and Muriel Cunningham. You will want to read this article to increase your knowledge of the influence of biofilms on wound healing, and to review the latest evidence on emerging options for their management. Elizabeth Jesada, Joan Warren, Dorothy Goodman, Ruth Iliuta, Gail Thurkauf, Maureen McLaughlin, Joyce Johnson, and Larry Strassner report results of a study that compared digital photographs to bedside assessment for pressure ulcer staging and 13 wound characteristics included in the Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool. You will want to read this cutting-edge research report to learn more about the limitations and strengths associated with digital photography as a tool for chronic wound assessment. Jeanne Redlin Lowe, Gregory Raugi, Gayle Reiber, and Jo Anne Whitney report results of a prospective cohort study that evaluated the effects of an electronic medical record on documentation and coding. This article qualifies as must read for any WOC nurse seeking to maximize the benefits of electronic medical record keeping on chronic wound management.

This issue includes 2 Challenges in Practice that also focus on wound management. CarolAnn Romeo and Charles Buscemi describe the case of an 81-year-old man managed for chronic dehiscence of an abdominal wound aggravated by chronic itching. In the second Challenges, Javier Ramos-Torrecillas, E. De Luna-Bertos, O. Garcia-Martinez, L. Diaz-Rodriguez, and C. Ruiz describe a case of an 86-year-old woman with a nonhealing pressure ulcer managed by platelet-rich plasma. You will want to read both of these articles that describe unique or novel approaches to the management of patients with complex or nonhealing wounds.

This issue's Ostomy Care section opens with a study that evaluated health-related quality of life in patients with a urostomy. Chie Furukawa, Yo Sasaki, Kazuko Matsui, and Ikuharu Morioka evaluated 60 patients with urostomies. You will want to read this clinically relevant research report not only to increase your knowledge of a urostomy on quality of life but also to learn more about the effect of time on this essential outcome of our care. This issue's CE article is part 2 of a series of articles describing orthotopic neobladder management. Authored by Olivia Herdiman, Kevin Ong, Linda Johnson, and Nathan Lawrentschuk, this article provides a detailed and cutting-edge discussion of postoperative management of this complex urologic procedure.

This issue's Continence Care section opens with a descriptive study of the occurrence and severity of incontinence-associated dermatitis in a group of community-dwelling persons with fecal or double fecal and urinary incontinence by Kristi Rohwer, Donna Bliss, and Kay Savik. You will want to read this article to improve your knowledge of the epidemiology of incontinence-associated dermatitis in a community-dwelling sample and to learn more about its clinical manifestations and severity. Hollie Gabler Filce and Leslie LaVergne report a study that evaluated outcomes following a 1-week residential program for adolescents with urinary or fecal dysfunction and associated incontinence. You will want to read this cogent article to learn more about the positive impact of this intervention and to determine whether your health system should consider implementing a similar program.

Vickie Haugen and Catherine Ratliff authored this issue's Spotlight on Research column. You will want to read this clinically relevant review of instruments for the assessment of peristomal skin problems in order to determine whether any are ready for routine use in your clinical practice.