Anna Tumchewics & Shawna Lough
Nurses Specialized in Wound, Ostomy, and Continence
Nurses working in the Northwest Territories are expected to provide wound care in diverse settings such as acute care, home and community care, clinics, long-term care, and some small health centers in isolated communities, often without resident physicians.
Anna Tumchewics and Shawna Lough are our Territorial NSWOCs: Nurses Specialized in Wound, Ostomy, and Continence. They were the first in the NWT to be certified in this area, and they have done some amazing work that is being recognized on a national level.
In collaboration with the Wound, Ostomy & Continence Institute (WOCI), as owned and operated by the association of Nurses Specialized in Wound Ostomy and Continence Canada (NSWOCC), Anna and Shawna worked together in developing a 2-day, on-site skin health and wound care program to provide foundational wound care knowledge to other NWT nurses.
In all, ten Skin Health: Foundations in Wound Management courses were presented during the fall of 2019, in seven distinct communities, delivered to 82 nurses across the NWT. The course focused on the care and management of the client as a whole and the underlying factors which may have led to or complicated their wound trajectory, and also discussed dealing with complex or difficult wounds, particularly types seen in North, like severe frostbite.
Participants completed tests at the beginning and end of the course, and every group demonstrated increased knowledge of skin health and wound care, and many expressed appreciation for the opportunity to attain comprehensive foundational wound education within their communities.
At the request of WOCI, following their course delivery in the NWT, Anna and Shawna also created a poster for the WOCI 2020 conference. To download and view the poster created by Shawna and Anna, click here!
Update: Congratulations on your retirement, Anna!