RN Wound/Ostomy Resource- UNC Medical Center

Join Our Growing WOCN Team as a Wound/Ostomy Resource Nurse!

Become part of an inclusive organization with over 40,000 teammates, whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of the unique communities we serve.

We provide comprehensive WOCN care, including Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT), with a focus on flexible 40-hour workweeks, and incentives to eligible applicants.

What You'll Experience:

• Collaborative team environment where WOCNs support each other in solving complex patient challenges with creative solutions.
• Exposure to complex cases rarely seen in smaller hospitalsgiving you valuable ongoing learning opportunities and professional growth.
• Active involvement in quality improvement initiatives, such as reducing hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPI) and shortening length of stay for new ostomates.

Why Join Us? Our team is expanding alongside the anticipated launch of a complex wound service, adding new expertise and provider support to better serve the growing wound care needs in North Carolina. WOCNs here are passionate advocates, bridging care gaps and finding satisfaction in making a meaningful difference.

The UNCMC Certified Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurse team is a professional consult service. We are educators, researchers, and advocates, dedicated to meeting the needs of our patients and their caregivers. Our mission is to leverage our expertise in collaboration with the healthcare team and to optimize patient outcomes.

Summary: Assesses, plans, implements, and evaluates wound, ostomy and continence care throughout inpatient and outpatient areas. Functions primarily as a clinical consultant and provides direct patient care and education to highly complex patients and provides staff educational programs in areas of expertise, with Certified Wound and Ostomy Nurses. The Wound Ostomy Team Resource Nurse is expected to work toward full CWOCN certification per timeline set by manager/director and to provide regular updated on their progress towards this goal.

Responsibilities:

• Administrative: Supports the Administrative functions of the Wound and Ostomy team as appropriate to education and experience. Stays informed of product innovations from the manufacturers of ostomy, wound, continence and skin care products. Maintain a mechanism for documentation for patient caseload. Update and maintain appropriate data collection criteria and tools when appropriate. Maintains and utilizes current documentation standards for ostomy, wound, continence and skin care patients.
• Clinical Consultant: Collaborates with Certified Wound and Ostomy Nurses to provide consultation to medical staff, physicians and nursing staff for patients with wound, ostomy and continence conditions, seeking guidance as needed. Provides assessment and recommendations for wound, ostomy and continence patients. Develops patient plan of care and monitors for effectiveness. Provides patient and family education. Coordinates discharge plans with the provider and case management. Serves as clinical consultant for wound, ostomy, continence and skin care needs for committees, task forces, projects on the unit level, hospital level and healthcare level. Attends professional offerings to further enhance clinical skills and to be current on clinical standards related to wound, ostomy, continence and skin care.
• Educational Consultant: Collaborates with Certified Wound and Ostomy Nurses to provide educational programs for health care providers including nurses, physicians and students in the UNC Health Care system. Provides educational resources to keep staff updated to advances, new policies and procedures related to WOC practices and related quality and patient safety issues. Serves as the clinical expert for orientation material on wound, ostomy and skin conditions for new nursing staff. Serves as a clinical preceptor to nursing and medical staff and students as appropriate to education and experience. The Wound and Ostomy Support Nurse is also responsible for identifying and meeting learning needs of self and attends education programs based on identified learning needs to develop clinical expertise in the area of wound and ostomy nursing.
• Research Participant: Participates in research related to WOC nurse practice including wound, ostomy, skin and continence conditions. Participate in data collection including audits of pressure injuries. Interpretation of data

Education Requirements: Bachelor's degree in Nursing from a state-accredited school of professional nursing Licensure/Certification Requirements: Must be actively enrolled in or have graduated from an accredited WOC Nursing Education Program. The traditional pathway is strongly preferred. If a candidate is in pursuit of the CWOCN via the Experiential pathway, he or she must show evidence of completion of all applicable CE and practice hours and be eligible to sit for certification exams. Licensed to practice as a Registered Nurse in the state of North Carolina. Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Provider certification. Professional Experience Requirements: Two (2) years of nursing experience. Knowledge/Skills/and Abilities Requirements: Proficient level assessment and clinical intervention skills