Volume 42 Number 4

Colorectal and WOC knowledge share: a truly collaborative event

After a year of planning, some WCET^® Executive Board (EB) members were delighted to be invited to join the International Society of University Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ISUCRS) for their 31^st conference in the beautiful city of Istanbul. This event marked the auspicious occasion of the very first joint nursing conference, along with local organisers the Turkish Wound Ostomy and Continence (WOC) Society for Nurses, the European Council of Enterostomal Therapists (ECET) and the WCET^®.

Dr Elizabeth A Ayello was invited as honorary nursing conference president and Dr Ayişe Karadağ held the position of president. Renata Batas and Danila Maculotti represented ECET EB while Laurent Chabal and Denise Hibbert represented WCET^® EB.

WCET^® Past President Susan Stelton also gave presentations at both the ISUCRS and WOC conferences. In advance of the conference, Dr Ayello was hosted by the Koç University and met with professors and post-graduate students.   

 

 

After two wonderful days of workshops, keynote and plenary sessions, panel discussions, meet the experts, free papers and poster presentations, came the closing session for nursing. Dr Karadağ and the EB of the Turkish WOC Association presented Dr Elizabeth A Ayello with a Lifetime Achievements Award; Dr Dimitri Beeckman with an Award for Service to Skin Care and Susan Stelton, for her contribution to the development of WOC in Turkey. Also, Laurent Chabal, for the WCET^®, and Gabriele Kroboth, for the ECET, were presented with awards.

We would like to thank Nursing Committee President Dr Ayişe Karadağ and the local Turkish committee, ISUCRS President Dr Narimantas Samalavicius, and ISUCRS Vice President Dursun Buğra for their kind invitation and for being excellent hosts.  Please see the WCET^® bullETin for more details and photos of this important event.

 

Dr Elizabeth A Ayello
Receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award
from the Turkish WOC Society at the ISUCRS conference

 

Susan Stelton
Past WCET^® President (2014–2018) receiving an Award for
Contribution to Turkish WOC at the ISUCRS conference from Dr Ayişe Karadağ

 

Laurent Chabal
WCET^® President receiving an award on behalf of the WCET^®
at the ISUCRS conference from Dr Ayişe Karadağ

 

Invitation to speak at KOC university

Dean Ayise Karadag from the School of Nursing, Koc University in Istanbul, Turkey invited me to give a Writing for Publication Seminar to the doctoral students and faculty on Tuesday 24 October 2022, prior to the 31st Biennial ISUCRS Joint Nursing Congress. Most of our WCET^® members would know me as I served as the volunteer Executive Editor for the WCET^® Journal  from  2004-2014. As a clinical nurse specialist with a full-time job in a major hospital in New York, I began working part-time as an assistant to the editor for the journal Decubitus in 1989. As the name of the journal changed so did my position. The journal is now called Advances in Skin and Wound Care and I have the honor to serve as Co-editor in Chief along with Dr R Gary Sibbald, a dermatologist from Toronto, Canada.

This practical seminar had two parts. The first was a didactic presentation entitled ‘Writing and Publication Tips’. The objectives of this first part of the seminar were: 1. To identify editorial process steps from manuscript conception, writing, publication submission and journal publication decision; and 2. Review common requirements of manuscript author guidelines to write in  the appropriate journal style. Participants were able to attend in person or virtually; the feedback I received was they enjoyed the relaxed and interactive format that enabled them to learn and gain new knowledge about publishing.

Of the major points covered, the major first decision is who do you want to read your article? That will then guide you to which journal you should think about tailoring the style and format of your manuscript to. It is essential to follow the author guidelines for the specific journal you will be submitting your manuscript to.

We had  much discussion about how to write and some of the difficulties that writing in English can pose. I loved hearing all the comments and questions; we also talked about their ideas for their doctoral dissertation. The School of Nursing students and faculty at Koc University are very actively engaged in many studies for which they are to be commended. More importantly, they do submit their research for publication to a variety of journals.

 

 

The second part of the seminar was open only to in-person attendees. The Dean preselected some manuscripts for me to review and use as illustrations of the principles that were covered in part one. I emphasised that a student cannot just take a paper, thesis, or even their doctoral dissertation and submit it to a journal as written for the school. Writing for a journal is different. Several examples of clarity of thought, sentence structure, as well as how to respond to peer reviewer comments were discussed.

Afterwards, I toured the simulation labs and reviewed some tapes of the competency assessment exams that students are required to do. Their labs and competency checklist/processes were very impressive.

Based on my interactions with students, staff and faculty, this is a very extraordinary School of Nursing.  This is a School of Nursing that mentors its students and faculty and greatly supports these professional efforts of creating the evidence upon which to base practice as well as disseminating the findings.

On a personal note, I wish to thank them all - students, staff and faculty - who took the time out of their busy work and school schedules, for their kindness and the wonderful way they took care of me. I look forward to learning of their publications, research and doctoral dissertation. Thank you so very much for this great opportunity which was so professionally enriching and fun for me. I look forward to hearing about your accomplishments. Hoping to see you again at Congress - submit your abstracts please.

Elizabeth A Ayello
WCET^® Immediate Past President

Author(s)

Denise Hibbert
WCET^® President Elect

Laurent O Chabal
WCET^® President

Elizabeth A Ayello
WCET^® Immediate Past President