By Aletha Tippett MD

It's How We Learn Wound Care

How does one learn to care for wounds? I am a physician and a wound specialist. My medical school training included physiology of wound healing, but no practical teaching. There was nothing in residency either. Everything I know about wounds I learned from attending conferences and workshops.

At a conference, health care professionals get to learn from experts in the field, and often are able to ask them questions. You can learn things that were never taught in the classroom. At a workshop you can get very practical hands on learning, something you can use in your daily routine. Not all conferences are the same, so it is important to look at the goals and agendas of the conference to see if this is something that would be helpful. I have attended all the major wound conferences, some multiple times.

Choosing The Wound Care Conference That's Right For You

If limb salvage is of interest, the conferences of Diabetic Limb Salvage and New Cardiovascular Horizons are musts. If standard wound care is important, then SAWC and WOW are applicable. These are all domestic conferences, but there are many in other countries, such as World Union of Wound Healing (I attended that one in Toronto, Canada). There is a big one this October in Malaysia, The International Wound and Biotherapy Conference: Great minds. Advanced technologies. One purpose.

Perhaps you have never attended a conference, or you have been to many and there is nothing new, or you are working in hospice or the new area of palliative care. I founded a conference that could be very beneficial for you: the 5th Palliative Wound Care Conference, presented by The Hope of Healing Foundation and the University of Cincinnati that will be held in May in Orlando, Florida.

This conference is small and intimate with lots of individualized attention. Lectures are given by esteemed experts in their field, providing innovative insights into different aspects of palliative wound care. Workshops help enhance hands-on skills. It is held in a beautiful hotel, with lots of good food and companionship, yet close to Disney if that is desired.

Please consider attending a conference to enhance your skills in wound care. It’s the best way to go.

Visit the WoundSource Resource Center for a listing of upcoming conferences.

About The Author
Aletha Tippett MD is a family medicine and wound care expert, founder and president of the Hope of Healing Foundation®, family physician, and international speaker on 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.