As I ended my tenure as a section editor for JWOCN, Dr Gray requested that I submit a View From Here on "Reflections of a Career." In thinking about the topic, my thoughts turned to the concepts of what is reflection and what should a career reflect? Reflection1 is defined as the return of light or something that is capable of reflecting light, and a career2 has been defined as a field for or the pursuit of consecutive progressive achievement.
So as WOC specialty nurses have we chosen a path for our career that is reflective of progressive achievement? Do we take the time to consider what we reflect and how will it affect others-is it positive, uplifting, inspiring, meaningful, and make a difference? What do we see in the reflection of ourselves and our career, and what do others see?
I am proud to be a registered nurse (RN) and believe that nurses are the glue that holds health care together, which is particularly vital in these current times when the delivery of health care seems fractured and impersonal. This is my 57th year as an RN, 49 years of which have been as an enterostomal therapist (ET) and later as a certified wound, ostomy, and continence nurse (CWOCN). While serving as a District Office Supervisor for the Visiting Nurses Association in St Louis, MO, I was offered the opportunity to attend the Harrisburg Hospital ET School, becoming the second ET in St Louis, and one of the first ETs working in Home Health Care in the country. Throughout my career, I have been privileged to practice in many roles including clinician, manager, administrator, educator, consultant, author, and researcher to a limited extent. I have often practiced in dual roles, and in varied settings, including acute care hospitals, intensive and cardiac care units, home health, academia, independent nursing practice as a WOC specialty nurse, and developed and served as Director and Faculty of the WOCN-Accredited Wound Care Education program at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).
In describing WOC nursing to others, I have often referred to WOC nursing as the career of a lifetime, providing special care to special people. It is not often that we see so many nurses engaged in the same area of practice for several decades. WOC nursing provides great opportunities for job satisfaction from the ability to truly change people's lives or make their life better by the application of our specialty knowledge and skills. There is a lot of autonomy afforded to WOC nurses and opportunities for growth and quite often WOC nurses are leaders within their facilities. As noted in my career, there are many opportunities to practice in a variety of roles and in varied settings.
So, back to the questions regarding reflections of a career. As I think of my fellow WOC nurse colleagues, I believe that WOC specialty nurses are exceptional examples that reflect the best that the profession of nursing has to offer. WOC nurses change lives every day in both small and large ways and that is a career reflective of great dedication, competence and skill, and compassion. WOC nurses are bright, innovative, and known globally for their excellence.
In the recent WOCN Society's promotional materials for WOC Nurses Week 2023,3 WOC nurses were described as "Stars." It is interesting to note that some scientists believe that most stars are capable of not only reflecting light but also generating light.4 WOC nurses are often a light in the darkness for patients who are struggling and may feel isolated due to their WOC needs. I believe we can and do purposefully bring light to our patients, colleagues, the profession of nursing, and WOC specialty nurse practice.
Our practice has grown and evolved over the many years since its inception. We have accomplished much, and there are still challenges and issues to address. Our WOC practice is reflective of the challenges confronting the nursing profession in general such as the nursing shortage with limited staff and heavy workloads and specific issues such as insufficient recognition of the value and worth of WOC nursing to cost-effective, evidence-based patient outcomes and various restrictions on reimbursement for WOC specialty nurse services and WOC supplies for patients. Also, there is limited research evidence to support many areas of our practice. For example, as the Chair of the Wound Guidelines Task Force and in my recent role as JWOCN Section Editor for wound research, I noticed that other than for pressure injury, original research and publication regarding wound care are quite limited by WOC nurses as well as other health-care providers.
Each of us at whatever stage in our career can pause to consider what we reflect in our personal and professional lives and determine if it is what we wish to reflect. Are we a positive reflection, and do we bring light to the profession of nursing and specifically, WOC nursing?
Being a professional nurse and WOC specialty nurse continues to give me great personal and professional joy and pride. My hope is that each WOC nurse feels joy and satisfaction for each day they make a difference in someone's life, serving on the front lines of health care. The following is an excerpt of a tribute to WOC nurses I wrote in 2011 for Nurses Week5 (There is a difference, unpublished data):
By calling, choice, or circumstance
WOC nurses are making a difference
For individuals with WOC needs
Making a difference
WOC nurses, accept the challenge to change lives
In simple, in complex, in often noble ways
WOC nurses around the globe, answer the call to service of others
Providing help and lifting those in a valley of life to new beginnings
Making a difference
The difference is one, who cares enough
The difference is one, who sees possibilities
The difference is one, embracing change for the future
The difference is one, who is committed to a purpose
One can make a difference
One can change lives
That one, that difference, is a WOC nurse
Since joining in 1974, I am a proud member of the WOCN Society (then known as the International Association for Enterostomal Therapy [IAET]). I have been privileged to serve the Society in multiple roles as a volunteer and give back to our specialty including serving as Past President of the Society, Advisory Board member and Section Editor for the JWOCN, member and current Chair of the Task Force developing evidence-based wound care guidelines, Clinical Editor, and Co-Faculty for the Wound Treatment Associate program. Volunteering requires a great commitment of time and talent. However, providing such service allows for personal and professional growth in addition to contributing to the Society's mission to support our specialty practice in the care of our patients so that we can "make a difference" each day in the lives of individuals with WOC needs, which is indeed the reflection of a career of a lifetime.
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