Nursing Certification and Credentialing

 

What Is Certification?


Certification is a voluntary process of validating knowledge, skills, and abilities beyond the scope of the nursing license. Certification benefits patients, families, employers, and nurses. For further information, check these agencies.

Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE)  http://www.credentialingexcellence.org/

National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) http://www.credentialingexcellence.org

American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS) http://nursingcertification.org/


Nursing Credentialing Organizations

Select one of the major credentialing entities listed below to learn more about their respective certification programs for nurses.

 

The American Nurses Association/American Nurses Credentialing Center

The American Nurses Association (ANA) and The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) state that certification:

  • identifies nurses with strong professional development standards
  • is a measure of professional competency
  • is recognized by all state boards of nursing and the U.S. military
  • validates nurses' skills, knowledge, and abilities
  • empowers nurses within their profession
  • contributes to better patient outcomes

The ANA's credentialing arm, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), is the largest nurse credentialing organization in the United States. More than 250,000 nurses have been certified by ANCC since 1991.

The ANCC offers certification for nurses, nurse practitioners, and advanced practice nurses in more than two dozen specialities. For further information on ANA/ANCC certifications, visit their Web sites.

 

American Association of Critical Care Nurses

The American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) offers its own credentialing program specifically for critical care nurses. Like the ANA/ANCC, an AACN credential requires a qualifying examination and has its own set of requirements which RNs must meet in order to take the credentialing examination.

AACN offers certification for staff nurses in multiple areas including:

  • acute care
  • critical care
  • progressive care
  • cardiac medicine
  • cardiac surgery
  • advanced practice (clinical nurse specialist)
  • nurse manager and leader

For more details, visit the Web sites of either the AACN or the AACN's Certification Corporation.  

 

Other Professional Nursing Associations in Specialty Practice Areas

Several professional nursing associations representing various specialty areas have their own credentialing programs. Some offer credentials that compete with the credentials offered by the ANA/ANCC while others offer credentials for specialities for which the ANA/ANCC do not have an equivalent. Each nurse is encouraged to perform the appropriate research on the credential that he or she feels meets their own specific career needs before making a selection.  The list below provides you with some resources for that research.

 

Emergency Cardiovascular Care Credentialing

The following courses are offered by the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, theEmergency Nurses Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  • Cardiovascular Care/Life Support Courses for Health Professionals
    • Basic Life Support Health Care Provider Course (BLS)--A half-day course designed to provide a wide variety of health care professioals with the ability to recognize life-threatening emergencies, provide CPR, use an AED, and relieve choking in a safe, timely, and effective manner. Noncertified, licensed, and nonlicensed health care professionals attend this course. 
    • Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Course (ACLS)
    • Pediatric Advance Life Support Course (PALS)
    • Cardiovascular/Life Support Courses for the public include CPR for Family and Friends,Heartsaver AED, and Heartsaver First Aid
       
  • CPR and First Aid Courses for professional rescuers, community members, and workplaces.
  • Emergency/Trauma Nursing Courses