About the Job

Making a Case for Nurse Certification

Commonly underestimated for not being the ones carrying out a surgery as well as not being the ones spending more than 8 years in college, the role of nurses is usually overlooked or even ignored. Furthermore, cases of violence against nurses have increased tremendously during the last decade and there are many other problems surrounding the world of doctors’ assistants. Nevertheless, it is impossible to deny how important nurses are for the daily functions of a hospital or any other kind of clinical facility. Nurses are in many cases the ones that actually get to save someone’s life, especially people who have arrived in very dangerous conditions to the ER.

Therefore, it is not surprising many people actually feel passionate about this profession and decide to make a living from it. But these people usually face another drawback and it’s regarding their education. Nurses tend to feel stagnant due to the lack of opportunities they have once they are certified as nurses.

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An opportunity for nurses to take their preparation to the next level

It may not be an actual degree but a specialty can be very helpful for a nurse that is looking forward taking the next step in their career. In many cases, indecision may crowd the aspirations of nurses, not knowing whether they should begin an advanced degree, complete another one they may have started some time ago or definitely go ahead and get a professional certification.

Despite of the decision they may be thinking about, the considerations are pretty much the same ones:

Being financially able to afford going for the next step in their career.
Will they receive the adequate and meaningful family support they need? Especially nurses that are mothers, knowing that a professional career will take away that free time they had from work.
How much time can you spend studying? Sabbatical year may be the best option but is not possible in most cases.

In the view of all this,many people may not feel prepared to pursue an advanced degree but that does not take away their desire to learn more about their careers and advance in a certain field. In many other cases nurses are required to have a certification in order to complete the hiring process when they decide to move to another healthcare setting. It becomes an extremely important requirement taking into account it brings a recognition and a certification, usually proving the receiver has met a national standard.

How can a certification be the solution?

When it comes to specialty certifications, the offers are so numerous that selection can be a daunting process. However, people looking forward to selecting the career paths they want to choose need to take into account where they want to go in their professional lives, what area is the one that interests them the most and also the credentialing body they. For instance, nurses looking forward specializing in obstetric, neonatal and gynaecologic nursing should look for programs through the Paediatric Nursing Certification Board.

Whichever the choice of credentialing body is, it must have credibility. So, researching about the entity is very important before actually deciding which one to choose.

Value and different incentives

Important changes have taken place regarding the way facilities are promoting specialty certifications, encouraging nurses to specialize in different areas. Some of the aspects that healthcare settings take into account for this matter are incentives. Nurses with certifications may receive bonuses, such is the case of nurses at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, who receive a bonus of $1,000 as an incentive for nurses who have successfully obtained a certification that focusses on enhancing nurse-patient communication.

But it is demonstrated that employers willing to pay more for certified nurses are a common. Employers understand how important things such as communication between nurses and patients are in order to improve the quality of the services they provide. Data states that certified nurses have a significant impact on patient care as well as on patient safety and this is something managers at healthcare settings are aware of.

These incentives have proved to be very effective. Surveys and interviews done to different nurses taking certifications serve as proof of how helpful these monetary incentives are. It is kind of a win-win situation where employers have their staff going through certification programs and nurses enjoy of monetary compensations. Regarding the value of these certifications at an academic level, the process validates clinical expertise and demonstrates their commitment and professionalism. It is also a way they can extend the areas of the profession they handle already and learn more about many others they are aware of but not completely.

Certification boards available for nurses

Regarding all different boards available for nurses that want to expand their knowledge and take a certification for the monetary incentives or even as a way to reach personal goals. This list extracted from http://www.nursingcenter.com/career/guideto-certification shows all the types of certifications and where can nurses get them: