WOC Nurses Share Expertise at Conference in South Africa

In March, three Wound, Ostomy and Continence (WOC) nurses and their nurse manager from Cleveland Clinic’s Digestive Disease & Surgery Institute attended and presented at the World Council of Enterostomal Therapists (WCET) Congress in Cape Town, South Africa. It was a wonderful opportunity for the nurses, who specialize in caring for patients with abdominal stomas, dermal wounds, complex surgical wounds, pressure ulcers, incontinence and related skin conditions.

“The birthplace of enterostomal therapy is here at Cleveland Clinic,” says Ron Rock, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, Nurse Manager and Clinical Nurse Specialist for WOC Nursing. “So when the world comes together and holds the founder, Norma Gill, in such high regard, the focus comes back to Cleveland Clinic and what our nurses do here.”

While Rock and his peers were regarded as leaders at the WCET Congress, they gained just as much as the other attendees by gathering with peers from around the world. “Going to a conference gives you a broader perspective, expands your thoughts on how to do things, helps you appreciate what you have and connects you with other people,” says Linda Coulter, MS, BSN, RN, CWOCN, who gave a podium presentation on Gill’s legacy and a poster presentation on an innovative method for short-term management of a prolapsed stoma.

Sharing clinical techniques and best practices

Left to right: Ron Rock, Rachel Ludwig, Karen O’Brien, Linda Coulter

Karen O’Brien, BSN, RN, CWOCN, and Rachel Ludwig, BSN, RN, CWOCN, were first-time podium presenters at the WCET Congress 2016. They shared a clinical technique developed by Cleveland Clinic’s WOC nursing team to help heal a patient without a bowel who was a transplant candidate. O’Brien felt strongly about sharing their expertise, knowing first-hand how much it can benefit other nurses.

In 2012, O’Brien attended a Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing (WOCN) conference in San Antonio, Texas. During one lecture, she heard about a major medical institution on the east coast that uses a sealant on patients in the neonatal intensive care unit to prevent issues with denuded skin. O’Brien researched the practice, then asked the supplier of the sealant to make a presentation to the WOC nurses. Convinced this was a good solution, O’Brien approached the nurse practitioner in Cleveland Clinic’s NICU about assisting WOC nurses with infant skin care. “They agreed to test this sealant out in all NICU babies with stomas,” says O’Brien. “This will free up our department for scheduled changes and also empower bedside nurses to keep their babies’ skin intact.”

All four Cleveland Clinic nurses heard stories at the WCET Congress 2016 that made them proud to be WOC nurses – and left them in awe of their peers. “The most impressive thing I saw was a nurse from Zimbabwe who had to fashion an ostomy pouch out of an IV bag because she didn’t have supplies,” recalls Rock.

Advice for presenting at conferences

Cleveland Clinic has 22 WOC nurses on its main campus, plus 16 in home care. Last year, they had more than 16,300 visits in inpatient and outpatient settings. As experts in WOC nursing, Rock says they have the responsibility – and privilege – of sharing knowledge at conferences. And he encourages nurses in all specialties to do the same. “Being able to share your knowledge with others – to give them ideas on how to bridge clinical gaps or enhance their practice – is advantageous to patients worldwide,” he says.

Cleveland Clinic’s WOC nurses offer these four tips for presenting at conferences:

• Have confidence in yourself. The first step to presenting is believing you can do it. When Coulter did a poster presentation at the 2014 WOCN Society Annual Conference, she learned about the WCET Congress. She told Rock she wanted to submit an abstract for a poster for this international event. “His response was, ‘Why not try to do a podium presentation?’” says Coulter. “I hadn’t realized I could even try to do that! Once he suggested it, the decision to submit was easy.”
• Seek the unique. What have you done in your practice that is innovative or highly effective? O’Brien says she and her peers care for complex patients every day, so it isn’t hard to find topics that warrant poster and podium presentations. Even if something you do seems routine to you, it may not be for nurses at other healthcare institutions. “Talk with colleagues about potential topic ideas,” O’Brien suggests.
• Study the conference requirements. “Find out from conference organizers what the requirements are – due dates, presentation length and so on,” says Coulter. She also encourages nurses to talk to people who have attended the conference in the past. Before submitting her abstract, Coulter contacted the U.S. delegate to the WCET Congress, who provided valuable advice.
• Practice…and practice again! “I did a trial run of my presentation for my colleagues, and based on their feedback, I modified the presentation. Then I trialed it for them again,” says Coulter. “I also practiced numerous times at home – alone and to my partner.” She says this made her presentation more impactful and meaningful for the audience.

Ludwig sums up the event of all four nurses who went to the WCET Congress in South Africa: “I feel truly blessed to have presented at the conference. It was a humbling and wonderful learning experience.”