Our 'Careers Edition' Highlights the Business of You

Since launching in the spring of 2007, Today’s Wound Clinic (TWC) has had the honor of educating wound care providers and program directors on the “business side” of the industry. Even if it is not always in-your-face apparent, everything that is published within this journal is done so for the benefit of those who make it their business to maintain the effective operation of outpatient wound clinics. From topics such as reimbursement and referrals to quality measure reporting and digital technologies for measuring wounds, we have covered it all — and we always make it a priority to focus not just on the administrative aspects but the impact that the delivery of actual healthcare has on the business viability of your clinics. Because, let’s face it, there is no wound clinic business to be had if the clinical operations of any facility are lacking or if best practices are not being appropriately followed. 

With this edition of TWCthat you now hold in your hands (or are scrolling through online), we offer our first publication that truly focuses on the business of you — the wound care providers and program directors who are managing and staffing these clinics. Our careers edition is intended to help you achieve personal (and of course business) success as a career healthcare professional. How can you appropriately negotiate salary? Does healthcare have a persistent pay gap dividing male and female clinicians? How should someone approach his or her next job interview, whether that desired position is with a current employer or a prospective one? (From the wound clinic administrator’s perspective, what constitutes effective and legal interview and hiring practices?) How should professionals pursue the opportunity to transition from the facility floor to academia (and vice versa)? What are some tips for crafting and maintaining a strong curriculum vitae/resume? What does it mean to be a true leader in healthcare, both inside and outside of the business C-suite? What are some practical parameters to consider when preparing for that dreaded day that no dedicated healthcare provider wants to face — retirement? What happens during a typical “week in the life” of a wound care fellowship clinician? What does a realistic “five-year plan” look like for the healthcare provider who wants to advance his or her career? All of these questions, and more, are answered in this edition. (Note that some articles appear as online exclusives; visit www.todayswoundclinic.com/issue to access all content.) Even our current installment of Business Briefs, beginning on page 6 of this edition, is part of the careers focus and discusses how reimbursement changes when providers become certified in wound care.  

We hope that this special edition will help you to navigate any potential career-path changes you may be considering and perhaps inspire you to take some sort of action in your career that may not have previously been considered. Please take the opportunity to reach out with any questions you may have to the many expert authors we have been fortunate enough to collaborate with for this edition of the journal. As always, thank you for reading TWC!