Strengthen Your Ostomy Care Expertise. Prepare for Your Next Professional Step.
Helping a patient adjust to an ostomy requires clinical knowledge, thoughtful assessment, and practical teaching. From selecting an effective pouching system to managing peristomal skin problems, nurses play an essential role in protecting comfort, supporting independence, and improving quality of life.
Network4Learning’s Comprehensive Ostomy Care Education for the COCN® Experiential Pathway is a 50-hour online program designed to strengthen your ostomy care knowledge and support preparation for the Certified Ostomy Care Nurse (COCN®) examination.
Whether you are an experienced nurse pursuing specialty certification or a clinician seeking a more structured understanding of ostomy management, this course provides focused education you can connect to everyday patient care.
Comprehensive Education for the Ostomy Care Nurse
Build your understanding of the patient’s journey—from preparation for surgery through recovery, self-management, and long-term adjustment. The course emphasizes assessment, clinical decision-making, prevention of complications, and individualized patient education.
Key areas of study include:
- Foundations of ostomy care: Relevant anatomy and physiology, indications for surgery, and differences among colostomies, ileostomies, and urinary diversions.
- Preoperative preparation: Patient education, psychosocial considerations, and principles of stoma site selection.
- Postoperative assessment: Evaluation of the stoma, peristomal skin, output, and the patient’s developing self-care abilities.
- Pouching systems and accessories: Considerations for selecting and adapting products to meet individual needs.
- Peristomal skin health: Assessment, prevention, and management of common skin complications.
- Stomal complications: Recognition of concerning findings and appropriate collaboration with the healthcare team.
- Nutrition and hydration: Patient teaching related to intake, output, fluid balance, and daily routines.
- Living with an ostomy: Body image, relationships, activity, travel, and strategies that support confidence and independence.
- Care coordination: Documentation, discharge planning, caregiver education, and continuity across care settings.
Who Should Take This Course?
This program is designed for registered nurses seeking ostomy-specific education, particularly those pursuing COCN® certification through the WOCNCB® Experiential Pathway.
It is also relevant to nurses caring for patients with ostomies in hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, home health, long-term care, and outpatient settings.
For experienced clinicians, the course offers an opportunity to organize existing knowledge, revisit challenging topics, and identify areas for further study.
Flexible Online Learning
Advance your education around your professional and personal commitments.
- 50 contact hours of ostomy-focused education.
- Online, self-paced study through Network4Learning.
- Structured lessons and quizzes to reinforce learning.
- A certificate of completion after successful completion of the course requirements.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, learners will be better prepared to:
- Explain the anatomical and physiological principles relevant to fecal and urinary diversions.
- Apply systematic assessment principles to the stoma, peristomal skin, and ostomy function.
- Evaluate factors that influence pouching system selection and performance.
- Recognize common complications and determine when further evaluation or referral is needed.
- Develop individualized education that supports safe self-care and patient independence.
- Incorporate nutritional, psychosocial, and lifestyle considerations into care planning.
- Apply ostomy care knowledge to clinical scenarios and certification exam preparation.
Continuing Education
Network4Learning, Inc. is an approved continuing education provider through the Florida Board of Nursing, CE Broker provider number 50-31049.
Successful completion of this program awards 50 contact hours. Learners should confirm acceptance with their licensing board, employer, or credentialing organization for their intended purpose.
Understanding the COCN® Experiential Pathway
The WOCNCB® Experiential Pathway allows eligible nurses to combine specialty practice experience with relevant continuing education when applying for certification.
This course is designed to support the ostomy-specific continuing education component and examination preparation. Candidates must also satisfy WOCNCB® requirements for licensure, degree, specialty practice experience, documentation, and application.
Course completion does not confer COCN® certification or guarantee eligibility or examination success. WOCNCB® determines certification eligibility and awards the credential.
Review the current WOCNCB® eligibility requirements before applying.
Take the Next Step in Your Ostomy Care Education
Build the knowledge to approach ostomy care with greater confidence, provide more effective patient education, and prepare for your professional goals.
Enroll in Comprehensive Ostomy Care Education for the COCN® Experiential Pathway and begin your 50-hour learning program.
COCN® and WOCNCB® are registered trademarks of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board. This is an independent educational program offered by Network4Learning, Inc.; it is not represented as a WOCNCB®-approved or endorsed program.