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Wound care program gets monetary boost by Weslynn Chubb Public Relations While hundreds of nurses may be on staff at any given hospital, a certified wound care nurse is a scarce commodity, and the average hospital is fortunate if they have one on their staff. Despite such scarcity, however, the field of wound care is in high demand and growing, said Phyllis Bonham, director of the Wound Care Education Program at MUSC, College of Nursing. This growth is due in part to the severity of wounds that many patients suffer from, which may be caused by diabetic ulcers, vascular disease, surgery and a multitude of other reasons. Medical professionals who are prepared to care for such patients are able to help with the day-to-day management of wounds and to make the experience as comfortable as possible for the patient. A certified wound care nurse often provides consultation to other medical staff, offering their advice on the best type of care for the patient. Training patients and their families to care for the wounds and setting up a personal skin care program for patients is a duty of the job as well. MUSC has been educating such nurses since the start of its Wound Care Education program in 1994. The program is accredited by the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN) and has graduated 131 nurses from the program, which prepares the graduates for the Wound Care Nursing Certification Examination that is given by WOCN.  The program at MUSC is one of a mere seven programs in the nation, and nurses travel from across the United States and around the globe in order to attend the three-week, on-site course. The course, which is offered to nurses who must have a baccalaureate degree and one year of clinical experience, is an intensive track that includes 60 hours of classroom instruction and 40 hours of clinical instruction. A web-enhanced program that will allow students to complete some of the program off-campus is also in the works. From left are: Jean Leuner, Ph.D., R.N., interim dean and associate professor, College of Nursing; Carol McDougall, director of Professional Development, College of Nursing; Phyllis Bonham, R.N., director of Wound Care Education Program; and Mary Mauldin. A recent donation by Mary Mauldin, director of the Educational Technology Lab, and her husband, Steve funded a Health Science Foundation scholarship. The scholarship will allow a nurse in South Carolina to attend the Wound Care Specialty Course. Mauldin says that her gift to the program is in memory of her mother, who was cared for by certified wound care nurses who were trained at MUSC. “We were fortunate because [my mother] began to receive great care by nurses who had been trained in the wound care program here at MUSC,” Mauldin said. “It's my understanding that wounds are painful and hard to heal, but these wonderful nurses gave my mother a quality of life that was just unimaginable based on her condition.” “Hopefully,” Mauldin said, “this scholarship will allow another nurse in South Carolina to obtain training that will bring skilled care and relief to many  people and their families.”