The adventure begins!

Going to graduate school has been a tremendous adventure for me.  I graduated from (the now closed) Sisters of Charity School of Nursing in Buffalo NY in 1990, and later earned my BSN from State University of NY @ Buffalo in 1994.  After getting my BSN, I had the itch to leave Buffalo, and started working as a travel nurse, working mostly in intensive care settings before moving to Connecticut in 1996 & meeting and marrying the love of my life.  Once in CT, I started working in home care as a visiting nurse, where I loved the autonomy of working independently in the field, seeing my patients “in their natural habitat” vs. sedated on a ventilator.  In home care I got a better feel for why my patients were the way they were.  I had a better insight into their social situations, why they did or didn’t take their medications, follow their diet or prescribed activity levels.

One area of passion for me had been working with wound patients.  I got a crazy rush from watching wounds heal, deep caverns in peoples bodies that would fill in and they would be whole again.  In 2000, Medicare changed the way we were reimbursed for home care, and efficient effective wound care became an important part of our agency’s survival.   We consulted with an amazing NP certified in wound care that performed what appeared to be miracles with our patients.  BID wet to dry dressing changes that seemed to go on for months were healed quicker with 3x a week nursing visits, impossible wounds that went on for months, sometimes years, healed.   

On a Friday afternoon, one of our wound patients had worsened.  We notified the surgeon of the patient’s condition, his response was to send the wound specialist to see him.  “Oh sure,” my supervisor said.  “Like she is sitting here in the office eating bon-bons ready to see a patient at the drop of a hat.  It’s too bad we don’t have someone on staff certified in wound care to send.”  From that moment something clicked in me, what would it take to get certified?

I called our consultant and asked her.  She referred me to the Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing Association.  She told me of the training it would take, that it would be difficult and time consuming, but she added, “I think you could do it.”   That was what I needed to hear.  I started taking online courses at SHU in 2005, and then took WOCN coursework online at LaSalle University in Philadelphia 2006-2007.  After completing 120 clinical hours, and taking 3 certification exams on April 30th of this year, I am finally certified in Wound Ostomy & Continence Nursing. 

I am still employed at the VNA of Southeast CT where I consult with wound & ostomy patients at home.   In addition, I attend meetings with the New London County Ostomy Association and hang out with my ostomy friends there.  I am enrolled at Sacred Heart University in the Family Nurse Practitioner program, and hope to graduate in 2011.  By obtaining an Advanced Practice degree, I intend to add more versatility to what services I can provide for the patient population of Southeast CT.

The semester has just begun, and I am full of passion!  Ask me again in another 6-8 weeks how much enthusiasm I have...

Comments

[Liz Lemiska]

Bridget I am so very proud of you. Keep going & do not look back. Advanced practice nurses providing hollistic care to this special patient population do & will continue to provide their care. Do hope to see you publish an article sometime soon!
Liz