The Importance of Nursing Certifications
By Jennifer Larson, contributor
Want to demonstrate your commitment to a particular nursing specialty? Show that you care about learning new concepts and mastering competencies that enable you to deliver top-notch patient care? Earn a few extra letters after your name to add to your résumé?
You might want to consider pursuing nurse certification.
Each year on March 19, the healthcare community takes a day to honor certified nurses and to recognize their dedication and achievements. And experts say that nursing certification really does show that you care about increasing your knowledge base.
“It’s about demonstrating excellence,” explained Christine Leyden, MSN, RN, vice president of certification and measurement services for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association that offers more than 20 certification opportunities for registered nurses and advanced practice nurses.
Elena Capella, EdD, assistant professor and director of the online MSN program at the University of San Francisco, agreed. Having a certification tells others that you have chosen to focus on a particular aspect of care and developed an expertise in that area.
“It really defines you and your career,” she said.
And certification can be very attractive for employers who take a look at your nursing résumé.
“It shows that you really take that much more initiative in putting in your own time and money to advance your own career,” said Baran Pal, a recruitment manager with Onward Healthcare. Pal reports that he has seen many employers and managers express a preference for travel nurse candidates with certain certifications.
Starting the process
First, you must determine what type of nursing certification you actually want to pursue. Consider these questions:
• What is your chosen area of expertise?
• In which direction do you hope to take your career?
• Could getting a particular certification help you get promoted or land a job?
Then you can investigate what certification is best suited to your goals and which organization offers that particular certification.
ANCC is just one of a growing number of organizations that offer certification programs for nurses. There are at least 40 organizations or corporations that offer certification opportunities for nurses. Some offer just one or two; for example, the Infusion Nurses Certification Corporation offers the Certified Registered Nurse Infusion (CRNI) certification, and the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists offers the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) certification.
Meanwhile, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses Certification Program includes more than a dozen different specialty certifications and subspecialty certifications. You could work to achieve certification as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (adult), or ACNPC, or perhaps the CCRN certification for your expertise in Acute/Critical Care Nursing (adult, pediatric and neonatal) or the CCRN-E certification for Tele-ICU Acute/Critical Care Nursing (adult).
And some offer certification that is appropriate for nurses and other healthcare professionals. For example, the National Asthma Educator Certification Board offers the Certified Asthma Educator (AE-C) program, and the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators (NCBDE) offers the Certified Diabetes Educator program.
Other factors to consider
Do you have enough experience or education to pursue the certification in which you’re interested? Some certifications require that you have a graduate degree, or that you’re already an advanced practice nurse.
The time commitment of pursuing nursing certification is another very important factor to consider. Some organizations only offer the exams a few times per year or in certain locations, which might require some travel on your part. You may also need to consider the cost.
“Not only is it a lot of work to study for the exams and learn what you need to know, it is a financial commitment,” said Capella.
Each certification exam can cost several hundred dollars (or more), plus you will have to pay a renewal fee every three to five years to keep your certification current.
But you may qualify for discounts through your membership in a professional organization, noted Leyden. The ANCC also offers a student rate for certification.
“Some employers do give an increase in salary or will help pay for certification,” she added.
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