Why do you invest your time & effort in association work?

I truly love what I do. I have a busy schedule with a lot of latitude, planning my days to allow for interruptions and emergencies.

One of the things I like most about my association work is that I can see how my contribution makes a difference. I also enjoy the fact that I can support my great team and share my knowledge and enthusiasm for wound care.

What are the top three success factors of impactful association work?

Compassion, respect and transparency

As many other associations, the World Union of Wound Healing Societies has been forced to look closely at its mission, vision and membership over the last year. Our aim today is to enable people to connect to the organization in a positive way, helping them to cherish their wound care journey. Opening the doors of WWUHS to members from all corners of the world broadens our horizon and enables us to promote a global organization that can have a positive impact on global wound care.

However, just because an organization wants to or needs to change, doesn’t mean that transformation will be going to go smoothly. At WUWHS, numerous hours day and night were spent listening to wound care professionals, lifting restrictions, and fixing the by-laws in a way that all is transparent and all our members feel fairly treated.

What should we #ChooseToChallenge when it comes to association work?

“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” Charles Darwin

Global associations like the World Union of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS) change either because they want to or because they have to. To keep up with the times, we have to challenge the status quo and dare to change.

New platform of ideas in evidence-based practices, networking, teambuilding, education, research and publications are some of the top priorities of WUWHS today. This is the only beginning of the new chapter and looking forward for the progress as WUWHS teams continue to work.

How is the association sector dealing with diversity and inclusion? Has it changed?

Change is not an easy thing to do, there are often tremendous barriers that we need to overcome.

Strong will, and a firm belief in good intentions are important in order to achieve change. Equally, support systems play a vital role in implementing change and ensuring we are all moving in the right direction together.