My Scope of Practice: A Successful Late Bloomer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. — Reinhold Niebuhr, theologian

  Jamie Tamburino, MSN, CRNP, grew up in Ohio in a small steel mill town where girls did not go to college. Her dream was to attend Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN), but in 1972 when she graduated from Struthers High School she couldn’t make that happen. Instead, she took a job as a waitress and commuted to Youngstown State University where she earned her associate’s degree in nursing.

  Years later, when Jamie was getting ready to send her children off to college, she shared the desire she once had to earn her bachelors degree. Unwilling to let their mother give up on her dream, Jamie’s children convinced her to go back to school. In 2001, Jamie started at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA), and in 2004 she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, 30 years after receiving her associate’s degree. With a revived enthusiasm and the support of her husband and children, Jamie didn’t stop there. She earned her WOCNP Certificate in 2005 and her Master’s in Adult Nurse Practitioner in Nursing in 2011, both from LaSalle University (Philadelphia, PA).

  Like her education, Jamie’s interest in wound, ostomy, and continence nursing didn’t follow a straight path. Because her husband’s job required a great deal of moving during the beginning of her career, Jamie had a number of different jobs in a variety of specialties, including intensive care, dermatology, camp nursing, urology, and long-term care. In 1993, Jamie and her husband settled outside of Philadelphia, and she began working at Neshaminy Manor, a 360-bed nursing home in Warrington, PA. As Jamie worked her way up through the organization, her wound care responsibilities grew. In 2000, she was named Assistant Director of Nursing and was in charge of managing the wound care team and educating the nursing staff on wound care. In 2006, Jamie joined Abington Memorial Hospital (Abington, PA) as the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurse. She became the Wound Program Manager in 2007 and currently holds that position.

  “I have been given the opportunity to grow as the expert in my role,” Jamie says. “I am able to identify problems, make recommendations, and implement my ideas with the support of nursing administration.” Right now, Jamie is changing her role as the CWOCN to CRNP, CWOCN; the credentialing alone is quite an undertaking. But in this new role, she will be able to work across the care spectrum and take the CWOCN role to the next level within the practice of CRNP.

  This new position, along with the fact that Abington Memorial Hospital is a teaching facility, allows Jamie to help guide the careers of many young nurses, whether by demonstration or by providing encouragement. “I strive to lead by example,” she says. “I have a daughter who is an RN. She just completed the WOCN program and has obtained her WOCN certification.” She provides the same guidance to her daughter as she would give to any young nurse entering the wound care field. “My advice is to follow your heart,” Jamie says. “CWOCNs serve in a rewarding field and are a great group of nurses who can collaborate through local affiliates. You are never out there alone, even if you are the only CWOCN in an organization.”

  Since 2005, Jamie has been a part of the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Society, an organization that has helped her connect to other WOCNs. In 2009 and 2010, she became President-elect of the Delaware Valley Wound Ostomy Continence (DVWOCN) Society and is currently serving as President of the Northeast Region DVWOCN. As an active member of the society, Jamie is able to advocate for her patients and establish the foundation for change. “We are needed,” she says. “Our patients count on us. We make the difference in how our ostomy patients react to their new stoma. We are their lifelines. It cannot be understated how important we are to our patients and what a rewarding job we have.”

  As Jamie continues to expand her role in wound care, she serves as a reminder that it is never too late to advance and expand your scope of practice.

This article was not subject to the Ostomy Wound Management peer-review process.