Welcome to 2025! I hope each of you had a wonderful Holiday season and a very Happy New Year! So much has happened since we last visited. Many of you may still be recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene that affected large portions of the Southeast and especially North Carolina, while others are now facing the effects of the fires in California. Our thoughts and prayers here at WOCNCB go out to all of those families that have been affected by these recent natural disasters and for any of you that may need assistance please remember that we have your back and are here to help.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our newest board member, Yvette Conyers whose term officially began on January 1st, and to welcome George Salamy back to the board as our Public Member. George has previously served in this role and has a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion for what we do as certified wound, ostomy, continence and foot care nurses. I am also happy to announce Linda S. McKenna is the WOCNCB President-Elect!

In other exciting news, nominations for the Employer Recognition Award are now being accepted. We have had some truly amazing employers win this award in the past, so if you work for an outstanding organization that supports you and believes in the value of certified wound, ostomy, continence and foot care nurses, don’t miss this opportunity to nominate them for recognition!

Here at the Board we remain focused on helping make certification and recertification as simple and stress free as possible. On that note, I am really excited to announce that we have eliminated the exam surcharge fee that was applied when exams were scheduled on separate days. Going forward when a new candidate schedules their exams, they can space them out without worrying about paying an extra fee to do so. The same applies to anyone who prefers to recertify by exam, although if you haven’t tried the new PGP program, I encourage you to do so! AND WOCNCB has launched new AP Portfolio requirements online! The AP PGP system is now live for those of you who are AP certified and preparing to recertify. We hope you enjoy the system and that it helps you to recertify smoothly and easily. The last thing we have added is the WTA-C to CWCN Fast track, which helps those with the WTA-C credential to transition to the CWCN credential more easily.

Stayed tuned, we have many more things we are working on for you. This is going to be a great year for WOCNCB! A sincere thank you goes out to all of our amazing volunteers on our committees and on the Board who work so hard to make us the Gold Standard in Wound, Ostomy, Continence and Foot Care certifications. And a huge thank you to our amazing staff who make all of our big ideas come true! We hope to see you at upcoming conferences including NPIAP next month and at WOCNext in June.

Warm regards,

Clay E. Collins, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, CWOCN, CFCN
WOCNCB^® President

Congratulations to Linda S. McKenna

WOCNCB President-Elect!

Linda is a WOCNCB® Board Member and was elected by the Board of Directors to serve as WOCNCB President in 2026! Prior to serving as a WOCNCB Board Member, Linda served as a committee member for the Professional Growth Program (PGP) and later was selected to chair the committee. During her time on the Board she served as liaison to the Advanced Practice Exam Prep Committee and later as liaison to the PGP Committee. Linda served as chair for the Revised PGP Task Force and presented at WOCNext 2023: WOC-ing You Through Recertification Through PGP.

NEW Streamlined ONLINE Advanced Practice PGP Requirements!

Consider Recertification by PGP and Skip the Exam!

WOCNCB launched a new, online Advanced Practice Portfolio system with updated portfolio recertification requirements that will make it easier for AP WOC certified nurses to recertify without taking an exam.

NEW Advanced Practice Portfolio Summary

80 points will still be required for each portfolio

Three categories for Advanced Practice Portfolio points:

1. Continuing Education (CE/CME/CNE)
2. Practice Hours within any role of WOC nursing (direct patient care, academic, industry, administrative/management)
3. AP Professional Activities, up to 40 points.

Download the Advanced Practice Portfolio Handbook for information.

WTA-C can Fast Track to CWCN!

If you hold a Wound Treatment Associate-Certified (WTA-C) credential, 24 wound CE/CME credits (contact hours) and 160 wound care practice hours can be applied toward the CWCN Experiential Pathway! 

The 24 CE and 160 practice hours must have occurred within the 5 years prior to CWCN exam application, and must be accumulated after holding a Bachelor’s Degree and RN license. Review full CWCN Experiential Pathway eligibility information here.

Did You Know?

Save when you apply for two or more certifications!

WOCNCB's exam and PGP fees are competitively priced and the fee structure includes substantial savings for nurses who apply for two or more certifications at the same time.

Exam and/or PGP Application Fees:

Once your application is submitted you have 12 months to complete all specialties. New in 2025: No surcharge for scheduling multiple testing periods.

You have options! Recertifying candidates with multiple specialties may select to recertify using PGP or Exam for each specialty. This is indicated at the time of portfolio submission and is considered "combination recertification".

Helping Hands

CE opportunity, February 26- 28, 2025. Livestream attendance option available Learn more

Learn the latest diagnostic and treatment strategies for comprehensive wound management. The program is multidisciplinary with faculty representing various wound-related fields. Multiple educational formats are used, including didactic sessions, hands-on demonstrations, and case presentations that offer comprehensive wound-management strategies (from basics to high-level). Up to 19 CEs offered.

FEBRUARY 27-28 DALLAS, TX. Learn more and register.

MAY 1-3 GRAPEVINE, TX. Learn more and register.

JUNE 1-3 ORLANDO, FL. Learn more and register.

OCTOBER 8-10 ATLANTA, GA. Learn more and register.

All WOCNCB official announcements are sent via email

Update your contact information in one simple step!

Remember, your certifications are with WOCNCB. Don't risk a certification lapse! All WOCNCB official announcements are sent via e-mail only. If you have changed your e-mail address in the last 5 years, please contact the WOCNCB office at info@wocncb.org. Help us help you to keep your contact information up-to-date to receive recertification reminders! 

The WOCN^® Society and WOCNCB do not share contact databases to prevent any perceived or actual conflict of interest on the part of the certification board.

To learn more regarding the WOCN^® Society and the benefits of membership please visit wocn.org.

Please keep your email address up-to-date!