By Laurie Swezey RN, BSN, CWOCN, CWS, FACCWS

Staying up-to-date with the latest in wound care can be challenging, given that there are new treatments being developed, research being reviewed, updates to guidelines and recommendations being published as well as new products coming out at a dizzying pace. How does today’s wound care professional stay abreast of the latest trends and news? In this segment, we'll look at some of the best resources available, whether you are new to wound care or a "lifer."

Wound Care Books

There are thousands of books about wound care. Here are two great ones.

Wound Care Essential: Practice Principles (3rd edition) (Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, 2011)
Written by wound care experts Elizabeth Ayello and Sharon Baranoski, the first section of this book offers comprehensive information on all of the topics that wound care practitioners need to know, while the second half is devoted to wound classification and wound management.

Wound Care Made Incredibly Visual (Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins, 2008)
If you are a visual learner you'll love this book, which is part of the Incredibly Easy! series of books. With hundreds of pictures, this book offers a visual feast for wound care aficionados. This book is geared towards beginners, but might also be a nice refresher for anyone with a love for wound care. It could also be used to educate patients.

Wound Care Journals

There are many journals devoted to wound care. These two are among the top-rated wound care journals. Subscribe to one of these to stay abreast of the latest news in wound care.

Advances in Skin and Wound Care: The Journal for Prevention and Healing
The title of this journal pretty much says it all. This journal is an excellent source of information on products, treatments and research.

Journal of Wound Care
This journal has a bias towards research and practice articles, as well as tissue viability studies. It also covers novel therapies, management and wound care education. All articles are peer-reviewed.

Wound Care Conferences

Conferences can be a wonderful way to meet others with a similar interest in wound care. Networking can be a valuable source of both information and contacts. They can also be a lot of fun. Plan your next vacation around a wound care conference- tax break, anyone?

SAWC Spring: The Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (San Antonio, April 29- May 3, 2015)
Accredited educational sessions, exhibits, networking events, new products and services- there's sure to be something for everyone. This conference offers two solid days of learning and fun, with the opportunity to meet any number of people with similar interests.

WOCN Society's 47th Annual Conference (San Antonio, June 6-10, 2015)
There's lots of time to plan to attend this conference, which offers the latest in wound, ostomy and continence care. Continuing education sessions are suitable for all areas of practice and all practice settings.

Online Wound Care Resources

Wound Educators.com offers videos, blog articles, pictures/images of wounds at all stages of healing, dressing information and information on wound care certification.

And WoundSource.com and its companion reference guide, WoundSource: The Kestrel Wound Product Sourcebook are essential for keeping current with the latest products and technologies available in the wound care market. Explore this website for resources, patient conditions, comparative product searches and more.

Whichever way you choose to get your information, whether from a book, conference or website, it's vital to stay on top of new wound care information as it becomes available. If you have a comment or suggestion about a great wound care information resource, please comment and tell us all about it.

About The Author
Laurie Swezey RN, BSN, CWOCN, CWS, FACCWS is a Certified Wound Therapist and enterostomal therapist, founder and president of WoundEducators.com, and advocate of incorporating digital and computer technology into the field of wound care.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author, and do not represent the views of WoundSource, Kestrel Health Information, Inc., its affiliates, or subsidiary companies.