NAWCO certification covering comprehensive wound, ostomy, and continence care across care settings.
Who it's for
Registered nurses and other healthcare professionals with clinical experience in wound, ostomy, and continence management — one of the few nursing specialty credentials open to multiple licensed disciplines (nursing, OT, PT, and medicine), not RNs alone.
What's covered
- Wound assessment and staging
- Wound management and dressings
- Ostomy and continence care
- Professional practice
What to expect
Expect applied, case-based questions on wound staging and treatment selection — the kind of judgment calls you'd make at the bedside choosing a dressing or assessing healing progress — rather than pure terminology recall.
How to prepare
NAWCCB doesn't sell prep materials directly; the Wound Care Education Institute (WCEI) and similar training providers offer the field's most widely used review courses, and the official Candidate Examination Handbook (published by NAWCCB) is the definitive source for eligibility and content-outline detail.
Certification details
- Certifying body: National Alliance of Wound Care and Ostomy Certification Board (NAWCCB).
- Eligibility: Licensed practitioner in nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or medicine, meeting one of several education/experience pathways detailed in the official Candidate Examination Handbook.
- Exam format: 110 questions (100 scored, 10 unscored pretest), 2-hour time limit, per the official candidate handbook.
- Fee: $380 total for initial application/exam ($350 certification fee + $30 processing fee); re-examination is $350 plus the $30 processing fee.
- Recertification: Every 5 years; 60 continuing education hours (about 12/year) directly related to wound/skin care management, or via an approved training course, re-examination, or the Wound Care Preceptor Program.