Dear Fellow Wound Specialists,
As my term as your president comes to an end, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support over the past two years. I’d also like to thank the ABWM Board of Directors, the Foundation Board and the headquarters staff for their hard work and commitment to our organization. A special shout-out to Executive Director Chris Murphy who has steered the ABWM ship for more than a decade with dedication, insight, and humor.
I did not aspire to be president when I joined the Board of Directors almost a decade ago. I certainly did not realize the concerns that arise daily regarding the operation of the organization. And I most certainly never appreciated the satisfaction of piloting an organization that is truly unique in the wound world. The mission of the ABWM sets us apart from other wound organizations – and our commitment to elevating the practice of wound care through our rigorous certification process is an achievement of which we can all be proud. Our interdisciplinary approach to wound care and the teamwork we advocate for and promote further distinguishes our organization. Our diplomates are committed to providing quality and compassionate care, and as an organization, we are dedicated to playing a critical role in advancing and strengthening the evolving specialty of wound care.
Over the past two years, I have been impressed by the candor and enthusiasm that I have witnessed at ABWM functions such as exam review meetings and Board of Director meetings, as well as during conferences and other wound care gatherings. The wound community does need to unite – and I strongly believe that the ABWM is the future catalyst for such integration. Our honesty and our mission to certify wound specialists should be the beacon for the wound community to collectively rally around.
We provide top notch exams that are painstakingly developed with proper statistical and psychometric techniques. We screen our applicants to ensure adequate ethical and professional backgrounds; we strive to fairly certify applicants who can demonstrate competency. In short, we do the right thing.
My role as president has provided me the opportunity to work with many diplomates, committees and the Board to further our mission. When I took over this position, I identified two areas I wanted to focus on during my tenure:
- Begin to build awareness of our organization beyond the medical community and communicate the value of ABWM certification directly to our patients, their families and the general public;
- Reach our diplomates and sponsor new avenues of communication with an ambassador program.
With these goals in mind, last year the organization placed a full-page ad in a special issue of
USA Today promoting the importance of seeking ABWM-certified wound specialists. This was our first foray into marketing our organization to the public, and we continue to identify marketing and rebranding opportunities to enhance the value and importance of ABWM certification.
Ambassador Program Co-chairs Dawn Franceschina and Karen Albaugh have identified our first group of ambassadors who will be providing important feedback to us as well as helping communicate to their local communities and through local media the importance of certification in wound care.
Further, Executive Director Chris Murphy and I traveled to Singapore last year for our first experience in providing a large-scale exam to health professionals in a foreign country. This will hopefully be the beginning of other international certification initiatives and perhaps even lead to changing our organization’s name to the International Board of Wound Management one day.
In closing, please accept my sincere appreciation for allowing me to lead your organization for these past years. It is with great enthusiasm that I pass the gavel to incoming president Gayle Lindsey who will do an outstanding job leading ABWM in the next two years. My hope is that more of you become actively involved in in improving and defining the ABWM for the next decade as wound care continues to evolve.
Warmest regards,
Dave Mahon, MD, FACS, CWSP
