– WCC = Wound Care Certification– DWC = Diabetic Wound Care– OMS = Ostomy Management Specialist– CWCMS = Certified Wound Care Market Specialist – For
wound industry • Recertify = every 5 years
Wound Care Education Institute
• Credentials for testing = MD, DO – licensed in US or Canada
• Website = www.abwms.org
American Board of Wound Medicine and Surgery
• 4-6 months before exam choose the exam most appropriate for you– Go online and read details regarding the certification
process• 2-3 months before exam begin a flexible study
schedule• Focus on your weakest areas of knowledge• Study at the time of day you’re most alert• Consider study cards to carry with you on areas of
weakness• If possible find a study buddy – very valuable!!!
Prepare Yourself for Your Chosen Exam
Day/Night Before• Know exact location of testing site• Organize items needed to take to the test
– Identification– Acceptance letter (if needed)– Calculator if allowed
• Eat nutritiously• Get a good night’s rest
• Dress comfortably – loose fitting clothes that allow for deep breathing ☺
• Arrive early for your appointment• You may have to wait a few minutes before they allow
you in the testing center if you are early• Take a moment to relax and reduce your
anxiety…BREATHE deeply, stretch, meditate a few moments to center yourself
• Keep a positive attitude • You can do this!!!
Exam Day
• Read direction for taking online exams very carefully • Looking for specific instructions on how to proceed • How to go back to review or edit questions• You can go back to previous questions…even on
the computerized exams
General Guidelines• Plan how you will use your time• How much time do I have?
– Each board exam is different depending on board organization and certification you are testing for…read the details for your exam carefully before going to the text center
• What time do you need tobe finished to have adequatetime to review your choices?
General Guidelines
During The Test• Before reading the questions, jot down formulas and
memory devices• Write key words on provided paper in both the
question stem and the choices when question confusing to you
• Paraphrases the stem by saying to yourself, “I see, I’m looking for…
Guidelines for AnsweringMultiple-choice Questions
• Read each question with the intention of answering the question without the alternatives that follow
• Use the process of elimination when you do not know the answer for sure
• Eliminate two alternatives quickly and then make a decision between the two remaining
• Another helpful method of elimination is to use the true-false methods
• Multiple-choice questions are basically true-false questions arranged in groups
• When numbers are in each alternative, and you are unsure of the answer, choose the numbers that are in the middle range, not the extremes
• When in doubt choose the answers that are longer and more descriptive ( this strategy will be of minimal benefit on the CWS exam)
• As you read the stem of each multiple-choice question, anticipate the answer before looking at the options
• Always read the question completely • Answer all questions in order without skipping or
jumping around • Do not linger on any one question
• Be alert to the fact that info relevant to one question is sometimes given in another test item
• Options that represent broad, sweeping generalizations tend to be incorrect
• Always read all of the choices, even if the first or second choice looks correct…this will be very important because some correct components of the answer will be in choices that have an incorrect component also…the incorrect component will make the entire answer the wrong choice
• Answer every question
• Read slowly, especially on a computer exam to avoid mistakes in understanding the question/answers
• Don’t read into question qualifications or interpretations not intended by the test maker
• If two choices overlap or mean essentially the same thing, both are probably incorrect (unless one of the choices is “all of the above”)
• Look for key words in the stem that you can relate to key words in the choice
• Don’t worry about the following choices: all of the above, none of the above, both B&C – Use the process of elimination and simply look at
what you have crossed off in the previous choices
• Regard a lapse of memory as perfectly normal
• Do not let it throw you into a panic
• If you block on answering one question, leave it for awhile and return to it later
• If you absolutely do not know the answer…never heard of the topic…then guess
• Be consistent with your guesses…choose the same multiple choice letter each time
• Chance of being right is 25%!!!
• If you have time left over, edit, check, and proofread your answers
• Be cautious about changing your answer without a good reason
• Prepare yourself for these exams early• Don’t wait until the last minute – this causes extreme
PANIC• Take practice tests
– In books, at courses such as this one, on websites of Wound Boards
• Concentrate on your weak area• Even good wound care clinicians fail these exams if
they do not prepare specifically for the test
Other Tips You Already Know
More Exam Preparation
Opportunities
CWS, CWCA, CWS-P
• http://www.abwmfoundation.org/• Practice Exams• Flash cards• Home Study Guides – next slide
American Board of Wound Management Foundation
WOCN Certification Board
Good Wound Books for Preparing for Exams
McCulloch J, Kloth L. Wound Healing: Evidence-Based Management. 4th ed. Philadelphia, PA: FA Davis Company; 2010.
Hamm RL. Text and Atlas of Wound Diagnosis and Treatment. McGraw Hill; 2015.
Bryant RA, Nix DP. Acute and Chronic Wounds: Current Management Concepts, 5th Ed. Elsevier; 2016.
Baranoski S, Ayello EA. Wound Care Essentials: Practice Principles. 4th
edition. WolthersKluwer/Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins; 2016.
Practice QuestionThe cell primarily responsible for contraction of open wounds is:
a. Fibroblastb. Myofibroblastc. Monocyted. Platelet
Mrs. H. is a 75 y/o wheelchair confined patient with severe bilateral lower extremity edema secondary to venous insufficiency and dependency. The most appropriate type of compression for this patient would be:
