Wound Care Specialty Practice Group

My name is Holly Kirkland-Kyhn and I am a certified wound care NP since 2008. I am passionate about educating NPs on the assessment, treatment and documentation of wounds throughout the patient care continuum. Nurses have held this space for many years; however, it takes a provider to diagnose, write orders for treatment and bill for treatments. I have trained hundreds of NPs and PAs on advanced wound care, including many who work in primary care, vascular clinics, wound clinics and acute care.

I have worked as an NP for more than 20 years in the Sacramento, California, community. Although trained in the U.S. as a registered nurse, I spent my early career working as a nurse and midwife in England and Ireland. I have traveled to Africa, Haiti and Belize to work in disaster relief and in promoting safe maternal-child care in rural areas. I now work at U.C . Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) as the Director of Wound Care and have led interdisciplinary team initiatives throughout the hospital to improve the safety and quality of care for patients, most specifically in pressure ulcer and injury prevention. I am an active member of the “Street Medicine” program at UCDMC, providing education on “Treating wounds from the Dollar Tree” to those who serve individuals who are experiencing homelessness.

I am truly delighted to serve as your co-chair for the AANP Wound Care Community. Wound care is not taught extensively in medical or nursing schools, yet we all treat wounds no matter where we specialize. This Community will afford its members the chance to learn evidence-based practice to improve your outcomes, share clinical wisdom on basic to advanced treatments and discuss algorithms for the evaluation and management of wound care patients. Wound care is my passion, and I can’t wait to talk with you about it within the Community.

Here is a little more information on my background:
Kara graduated with her Master of Science in Nursing (FNP) from Georgetown University in 2002. Currently, she works as the director of wound care services at The George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she oversees inpatient and outpatient wound care. She is an associate research professor of surgery at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at George Washington University. Her wound care interests include caring for persons with limb loss and limb differences, complex abdominal wounds and the use of technology in wound healing.

Kara is the current nurse board member of the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders and the president-elect of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC). Kara was one of the inaugural Fellows of the Association of the Advancement of Wound Care. She is an editorial board member of Wound Management and Prevention, Today’s Wound Clinic, Wound Masterclass and WoundSource 2022. Kara is also a member of the Prophylactic Dressing Standards Initiative, which is a joint collaboration between the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel and the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel.