Achieving Accredited Wound Care Certification
The demand for certified wound care professionals is on the rise. Navigating through all the programs and options for accredited wound care certification can be tricky. There is a large amount of misleading information available on the web and through word-of-mouth. Many businesses will try to make a profit by offering misleading information on their products. Educating yourself on available wound care options is the first step towards making sure you are choosing the right path.
Unfortunately, there is no standard for wound care knowledge. Many businesses offer certificates and other programs that don’t qualify for most wound care certifications. These quick courses can satisfy needed continuing education hours for your professional license, but will not help you get certified. At best, they will provide you with wound care knowledge that you didn’t have before.
Some hospitals or workplaces may require new nurses to take a certificate course that isn’t accredited just to gain knowledge on what they may be specializing in on a daily basis. Other healthcare professionals may elect to take a non-accredited course if they do not have enough clinical experience to get fully certified but still want to learn about wound care. These courses are often a lower cost than accredited courses.
3rd Party Accreditation: Aiming for Standard
The closest thing to uniform standardization is the 3rd-party accreditation. Accreditation is not easy to achieve – businesses and organizations must go through rigid inspection to make sure their products meet both national and international standards. These standards focus on the development of products and services and implementation of products. Accrediting bodies also ensure that development is maintained as new technologies and findings are made. Another thing to keep in mind is that a business cannot give accreditation to their own programs!
Make Sure BOTH Course and Test are Accredited
So what does this mean? You want to make sure that the course you choose and the certification test you take are BOTH accredited. One of the most telltale signs of a certification that IS NOT accredited is if the same company that sells the course offers the certification test. Certification programs must be independent of educational programs. This is to ensure there is no bias. Many certification organizations make education a prerequisite you must have before attempting the exam. Choosing an accredited course will satisfy this educational requirement.
Accredited Wound Care Certification Courses
WoundEducators.com has invested a lot of time, research, and development to get all available online wound care courses accredited. Every one of our wound care certification courses has been subject to an intensive and systematic review by major independent accreditation providers, and all wound care courses have been formally approved for continuing education hours. This will give you peace of mind that the content of our courses is at or above industry standards.
Accredited Wound Care Certification Tests
While many wound care courses (including our accredited courses) can satisfy the education requirement needed for many tests, the tests themselves are not always accredited.
Accredited wound care certification includes the:
- CWCA (Certified Wound Care Associate)
- CWS (Certified Wound Specialist)
- CWSP (Certified Wound Specialist Physicians)
- CWCN (Certified Wound Care Nurse)
- WCC (Wound Care Certified)
WoundEducators.com wants your hard work to pay off – and we suggest you choose a wound certification that is accredited. As mentioned above, accreditation upholds the highest standards of knowledge and wound care, and these certifications are highly regarded in the industry. It is no secret that the accredited certification tests can be difficult to pass, but this standard ensures that your certification is given the merit it deserves!
Accredited Course + Accredited Test= Success
Every one of our courses meets the educational standard set by the organizations that issue the CWCA, CWS, CWSP, WCC, and CWCN certifications. By choosing an accredited course and an accredited certification, you will be set up for success and career advancement.
Note: The professional requirements for each certification beyond the educational requirement may differ, including previous clinical experience and active licensing.
Do you have any non credit courses
Linda,
We have just launched a beginner’s course available here: https://woundeducators.com/wound-care-certification-courses/certificate/
I took my WCC with your program. What do I need to do now to advance to the CWCN? And then how do I maintain that? Also, will you ever be offering the ostomy certification course to be added on to my wound care certification?
Hi Georgia,
As an advanced practice nurse, I highly recommend that you obtain an accredited wound care certification. In addition, it is recommended that you achieve a certification that is exclusive to Bachelor prepared professionals and higher. (The WCC certification is not accredited and is offered to both bachelor and non-bachelor prepared professionals.)
Our 57-hour NP wound certification course will provide you with the education and CE hours needed to pass the CWCN exam. The NP wound certification course is fully accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) for 57 CE hours and accepted in all states.
As a former student, we will be happy to offer you a substantial discount on the course. Please contact us for details.
The WOCN eligibility requirements can be viewed here: https://woundeducators.com/wound-certification/wocn/
I also recommend reading the following article “The Importance of Formal Accredited Certification in Wound Care”
We do not have plans to add an ostomy course at this time. To view ostomy programs and accredited ostomy certifications, visit http://www.wocn.org/
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
I am an LPN an I would like to advance my career. Is your wound care certification accredited?
Melisa,
Our courses are accredited and our LPN course provides 50 CE hours. https://woundeducators.com/wound-care-certification-courses/lpn/
More important than an accredited course is an accredited wound care certification. We recommend pursuing the CWCA or WCC, which are both open to LPNs and Accredited.
I am a Certified Medical Assistant and wound like to become a Certified wound care specialist
What course do you recommend?
I do work for a hospital
Nicole, Thank you for your interest in wound care! We recommend the MA course – https://woundeducators.com/wound-care-certification-courses/wound-care-certification-for-ma/
If you work at a hospital, the best path to becoming certified is to use this course to study for your CWCA certification. You can read about both here-
The CWCA® Wound Care Certification
I am a medical doctor working in surgery for more than 10 years. Can I apply for a wound care certificate?
I am based in South Africa.
Hi Busanga, You can take our course to learn more about wound management and to prepare for the wound certification of your choice. You will receive a course certificate upon completion. If you would like to become board certified, you can also search the ABWM / PSI website for international testing centers near you.
hi
i am a physician from malaysia
do you open a clinical observeship program or do you have an information for clinical attachment placement near your center?
kindly assist and thank you
Hi Norlizah, you can use our online courses to learn more about wound management. For wound care jobs, check out our job board. To search for wound care physicians in your area, visit https://abwmcertified.org/find-a-specialist/