Cath Lab Digest

There is no peace among equals because equality doesn’t exist in the universe. Either one prevails and the other follows, or both negotiate their differences and create a greater partnership. – Harold J. Duarte-Bernhardt

  Throughout her career as a nurse, clinical nurse specialist and wound, ostomy, continence nurse, partnerships have been important to Mary Arnold-Long, MSN, RN, CRRN, ACNS-BC, CWOCN-AP.

  Arnold-Long had chosen to work for the Franciscan Health System of Greater Cincinnati, OH, partly because of their mission: the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Nineteen years ago, after working for this system for nearly 14 years, Arnold-Long and colleague Rita Pochard were offered the opportunity to attend an Enterostomal Therapy Nursing Education Program (ETNEP). Arnold-Long studied at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, MN; Pochard, at the Cleveland Clinic. They benefited from sharing different learning and clinical experiences. Shortly after they received certification in 1994, their healthcare system reorganized. Pochard chose to work for the system’s home health agency; Arnold-Long relocated to Indiana.

Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. The only failure is not to try. — Unknown

  Did you know that more than 5,000 years ago, ancient cultures used onion stems and reeds for intermittent catheterization? Or that pomegranates were used in the Middle Ages as pessaries to hold a prolapsed uterus in place?

  For Margaret Willson, MSN, RN, CWOCN, these facts serve as a reminder that no matter how accomplished one becomes, there is always something new to learn, because managing continence care is always evolving. “The more you know, the more you don’t know. Learning is a lifelong work in progress,” Midge, as her friends call her, says.

Never become so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise. View life as a continuous learning experience – Denis Waitley, motivational speaker and author

  For Phyllis Kupsick, RN, MSN, FNP-BC, CWOCN, there’s always room for improvement. For this President-Elect of the Wound Ostomy Continence Nurses Society, the last 36 years have been spent growing and evolving right along with the WOC nursing field. And just like this specialty, Phyllis continues to move forward, changing the lives of her patients along the way.

  Phyllis’ career started in 1975, 3 years before the Wound Ostomy Continence (WOC) Nursing Certification Board was formed. At that time, the young Licensed Practical Nurse, a recent graduate of the Stanly Technical Institute (Albemarle, NC), wasn’t yet sure in what area of expertise she would practice, although she knew her potential was limitless.

  Aletha Tippett, MD, is a wound consultant in solo practice and President of The Hope of Healing Foundation®, an organization dedicated to limb salvage and wound healing (visit: www.hopeofhealing.org/). Among Dr. Tippett’s more recent accomplishments was serving as Co-Director of the 2nd Annual Palliative Wound Care Conference, held June 10–11, 2011, in Cincinnati, OH. Like many other distinguished wound care peers, Dr. Tippett did not begin her career in this specialty—rather, she followed where she was led.

I am not a teacher; only a fellow traveler of whom you asked the way. I pointed ahead – ahead of myself as well as of you. —George Bernard Shaw

  Ottamissiah (Missy) Moore, BS, LPN, CLNI, WCC, CHPLN, is the definition of wound care education champion. Known throughout the Washington, DC metro area for providing exceptional care and advocating for education, Missy has been wound-certified for the last 7 years. It is evident she hit the ground running — and she hasn’t stopped.