Certified Wound Management
Registered nurse, Gerhard Kammerlander DGKP, founder and owner of the Academy for Wound Management Certification Kammerlander WFI, discusses a course that culminates in the copyrighted qualification `Certified Wound Manager´, as well as its European recognition and value
“The certification offered by the academy and the Healthcare Academy of Styria/Academy of the Austrian Care Association” is based on paragraphs 63 and 64 of the Austrian Healthcare Act, under which healthcare professionals are required to expand the knowledge they acquired during training at least every five years, through seminars that cover a minimum of 40 hours (para. 63 Abs. (1) S. 2. GuKG).
According to para. 64 GuKG healthcare professionals are entitled to participate in continuing education for at least four weeks (160 hours analogous to the continuing education requirement). The seminars must conclude with an examination and after passing this, the student can document this specialisation by adding the designation in parenthesis to his/her professional title (para.12 GuKG).
The specialisation ‘Certified Wound Management’ (ZWM) - a title registered with the European Trademarks Office (OAMI) in Alicante - is recognised by the Austrian GuKG, which is also valid in Switzerland. Members of any healthcare profession to which wound management is relevant - including physicians - can acquire the exclusive title Weitergebildet nach ZWM by passing the examination only offered by The Academy of Wound Management Kammerlander-WFI . This procedure is entirely justified because the course - which was basically established in 1995 and has been ISO 9001:2000-certified for three years - sets high standards for both participants and teachers. The number of hours devoted to theory and practical training far exceeds the legal requirements.
In the future, the structure will be designed according to the curriculum and guidelines of the German Society for Wound Treatment (DGfW) based in Giessen, Germany. Additionally, this specialisation will soon lead to a BA degree at the Thames Valley University, London.
The certificate falls under the Council Directive of 27/6/1977 concerning the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of the formal qualifications of nurses responsible for general care, including measures to facilitate the effective exercise of the right of establishment and freedom to provide services (77/452/EEC) and an amendment to the EU-Switzerland Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. Whether the certification is recognised as a national diploma depends on the question of whether the individual country has introduced a specialisation in wound management. This issue could be discussed by the initiators of the 9. European Pressure Advisory Panel (EPUAP) from 31/8/2006 to 2/9/2006, in Berlin - and be formulated as an international demand at the 10th Annual Meeting.
* Akademie für Zertifiziertes Wundmanagement Kammerlander WFI
** Akademie für Gesundheits- und Krankenpflege des Landes Steiermark und Akademie des Österreichischen Gesundheits- und Krankenpflegeverbandes
Course details: www.wfi.ch
01.07.2006
