Dylan Carpenter, MSN, RN, CWOCN, PCCN, MEDSURG-BC, a certified wound, ostomy and continence nurse in the Division of Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, recently received two prestigious awards at the 2025 Wound, Ostomy and Continence (WOCNext) Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Carpenter received the inaugural Wound Ostomy Continence Nurses DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses with a Bright Future, which was introduced this year to recognize tri-specialty WOC certified nurses who demonstrate exceptional clinical skill and dedication early within the first five years of their WOC practice.
Colleague and fellow WOC nurse Brigitte Vola, MSN, RN, CWOCN, CRRN, describes Carpenter as a clinician who provides individualized care to each patient.
“With an approachable demeanor and his sense of humor, he demystifies complex health concepts for patients and caregivers, empowering them to take charge of their care journeys,” Vola said.
Vola says in addition to compassionate clinical care, Carpenter has an unwavering commitment to excellence in WOC nursing as an educator, mentor, researcher, administrator, and leader.
Carpenter teaches nursing students at UAB and other local nursing schools as well as his colleagues. He helps design and deliver interprofessional curricula through the UAB Wound Scholar Program. Carpenter also contributed to a project aimed at reducing ostomy readmissions by standardizing patient education and improving communication among care teams. Within the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery unit, he provides hands-on mentorship through weekly rounding audits and collects patient data to develop action plans that drive measurable improvements in patient outcomes.
“Dylan’s ability to integrate compassionate care with innovation, leadership, and system-level change makes him an invaluable asset to both his patients and the WOC nursing profession,” Vola said.
Carpenter also received the Poster Merit Award in Practice Innovation for his poster entitled "Stopping the leak: Evaluating the effectiveness of ostomy education on nursing students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes."
His poster was in the Practice Innovation category, competing against more than 100 other posters. The project looked at how a three-hour ostomy education session, led by a certified ostomy nurse, could boost nursing students’ knowledge, confidence, and empathy. The results showed significant improvements in all areas, highlighting the value of structured, hands-on training in better preparing students to care for patients with ostomies.
“Presenting my research was an incredibly rewarding experience, and being recognized among such talented peers is truly humbling,” Carpenter said. “I’m thankful to my mentors and colleagues for the opportunity and their support.”