My Scope of Practice: A Thirst for Knowledge

Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. — Socrates 

Forging ahead to the final semester of her Doctorate in Physical Therapy this fall, Stephanie Woelfel, PT, MPT, CWS, FACCWS (photo) practices what she preaches: to remain persistent. Although she has minimal free time to hike with her dog and re-read her favorite Paolo Coelho books, Stephanie still makes room for Ostomy Wound Management and Wounds on her coffee table. She says, “You need to be a lifelong learner to be successful in this field.”

Stephanie began working in wound management almost immediately after earning her Master of Physical Therapy from Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI). “This practice area instantly resonated with me, and I loved seeing the change in people’s wounds and lives right before my eyes,” she says. She went on to obtain her CWS certificate in 2002, and she also became a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Wound Specialists. With more than 16 years in the wound care field, Stephanie has gained experience in long-term acute care (LTAC), short-term acute care, skilled nursing, home health care, and outpatient settings. “In addition to providing patient care, I have managed wound care clinics and LTAC hospitals, which has given me a lot of perspective on the health care system,” she says. “I have also been blessed to work in academia, teaching future generations of clinicians about wound management — first as adjunct faculty at my alma mater, Marquette University, and now as clinical faculty in the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California.”

In addition to her teaching position at USC, Stephanie is also the current chair of the Wound Management Special Interest Group within the Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology and Wound Management specialty section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). In this role, she assists physical therapists with wound management strategies. “We are working on several different initiatives right now, including clinical practice guidelines, guidance regarding Functional Limitation Reporting for wound care, the physical therapist’s role in wound management, and wound care reimbursement guidance for physical therapists,” she says. Stephanie is also the representative to the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) for APTA. “This provides me with a great opportunity to engage with other organizations, providers, and vendors to address pressure ulcer prevention and management strategies and allows the flow of that information back to APTA members.”

Of her current position, Stephanie says, “The thing I like most is that I feel I have the best of both worlds. I get to treat patients every day, and I also get to be involved in education, both in the classroom and in the clinic.” When asked how she hoped her position could evolve in the future, Stephanie explained that USC is in the process of establishing a wound care residency program for physical therapists. “I hope that in the near future we have residents working with us in the clinic, learning advanced wound management skills. Hopefully, my role will also evolve to include clinical research, examining the link between functional abilities and wound healing rates.”

For those considering the wound care field, Stephanie says, “So much has changed even since I have been practicing, yet there are still challenges of substandard wound care practices occurring in many areas. When I look at the mentors I have had in this field, every single one — physical therapists, WOCNs, and physicians — have all had one thing in common: their thirst for knowledge was contagious and always pushed me to do better for my patients.” This continued thirst for knowledge has been and continues to be a key factor in Stephanie’s scope of practice.

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