WOCN SOCIETY BOARD AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS JWOCN
BOARD President Kelly Jaszarowski, MSN, RN, CNS, ANP, CWOCN President Elect Stephanie Yates, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, CWOCN Secretary Christine Berke, MSN, APRN-NP, CWOCN-AP, AGPCNP-BC Treasurer Vittoria (Vicky) Pontieri-Lewis, MS, RN, ACNS-BC, CWOCN
Director Diane Bryant, MS, RN, CWOCN Director Kevin Emmons, DrNP, RN, APN, AGPCNP-BC, CWCN, CFCN Director Trudy Huey, MSN, RN, CWOCN Director Jody Scardillo, DNP, RN, ANP-BC, CWOCN
Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing (JWOCN ): NEW Foot and Nail Care Section TA RA BU E SC HE R, DNP, RN-BC , GC NS -BC, A NP-BC , C WO C N, C FC N, NE A -BC
COMMITTEE CHAIRS Accreditation Committee Kathleen McLaughlin, DNP, RN, CWOCN Corporate Development Committee Laurie McNichol, MSN, RN, CNS, GNP, CWOCN, CWON-AP Education Committee Zoe Bishop, BSN, RN, CWOCN Finance Committee Vicky Pontieri-Lewis, MS, RN, ACNS-BC, CWOCN Forum Moderator Committee Trudy Huey, MSN, RN, CWOCN Leadership Development Committee Carolyn Watts, MSN, RN, CWON
Membership Committee Jennifer Anderson, MBA, MSN, RN, CWCN, CFCN, CWS, DAPWCA, FACCWS National Conference Planning Committee Sunniva Zaratkiewicz, PhD, RN, CWCN Ostomy Care Associate Advisory Committee Gisele Castonguay, APRN, CWOCN Public Policy & Advocacy Coordinator Kate Lawrence, MSN, RN, CWOCN Scholarship Committee Carole Bauer, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, OCN, CWOCN Wound Treatment Associate Advisory Committee Janet Ramundo, MSN, RN, CWOCN, CFCN
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t is with great pleasure that I introduce myself as the new Foot and Nail Care Section Editor for the Journal. I am eager to start by sharing my background as a foot care nurse, talk about the purpose of this new JWOCN section and my vision for upcoming features. My background in foot care nursing started in 1991 after identifying a need for nail care among the older adults for whom I was providing care in both acute and home care settings. At that time, I was a Certified Enterostomal Therapy Nurse and a Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist (GCNS) working in a rural community for a home care agency and began consulting with home care nurses on complex or slow to heal wounds. I was amazed at the number of patients with lower extremity ulcers I saw who also had severely dystrophic nails. My desire to “do something to help these patients” began to grow. At the time, I knew no one who was providing such a nursing service. After searching for information on courses, conferences, or experts in the field, I found small pockets of nurses around the country providing similar care. I attended a course and developed my skills in assessment, nail and skin care, acquiring supplies, and made it my mission to provide foot care education for other nurses who care for patients no longer able to cut their own toenails and perform proper hygiene. My overall goal was to help improve function and mobility.
At the time I started providing and teaching foot care to RNs in home care, I was living in Northern Wisconsin where the population consisted of a high percentage of older adults. The local health care system purchased a group of communitybased residential facilities, small group homes for older adults, and assisted living facilities in our area. I observed a great need for nail care among the older adults living in these community settings. I addressed this need for nail care delivery in the community (partnering with the local community college) by writing a grant to develop community-based clinical sites for nursing students. The sites were located in local senior centers where I oversaw the foot care students provided and worked with them on their projects. Community-residing older adults would sign up for 4 IN IT FOR YOU
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ISSUE 8, SUMMER 2019
