or

Direct care of critically ill patients can occur in areas such as intensive care units and emergency departments. 

To obtain the certification, the nurse must take the CCRN exam. It is a 3-hour exam with 150 questions (only 125 questions are scored and 25 are used to gather statistical data for future exams). 

The exam is based on the AACN Synergy Model for Patient Care and consists of the following categories:

18% cardiovascular
17% pulmonary
20% hematology/endocrine/gastrointestinal/renal/integumentary
13% neurology/musculoskeletal/ psychosocial
14% multisystem

advocacy 
moral agency
caring practices
response to diversity
facilitation of learning
collaboration

The CCRN credential is recognized for three years. To maintain certification, the nurse can retake the CCRN exam or meet the requirements of the Renewal by Synergy CERPS (Continuing Education Recognition Points). CERPs are similar to contact hours. 

The Renewal by Synergy CERPS requires a minimum of 100 CERPS during the recertification period. These CERPs must come from the following categories:

It requires at least 60 CERPS from category A; 10 CERPs from category B; 10 CERPS from category C; and the last 20 CERPs from any category.

Also, the nurse must complete a clinical practice requirement of 432 hours in direct care of critically ill patients, with 144 of those hours accrued in the 12-month period prior to renewal date.

Overall, I feel that the certification process can be overwhelming. It requires a lot of time and effort, especially for the CCRN. However, I do believe that certified nurses are experts in their specialty, and provide the best possible care!

            As I think I may be interested in Rehabilitation nursing I decided to research a CRRN, Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse. A rehabilitation nurse is for any nurses who would want to work with patients suffering for chronic illness, injures, and disabilities and help them regain their mobility. I chose to research this certification because becoming a CRRN would be by ultimate career goal.

            To be eligible to become a CRRN the nurse must meet requirements including a current, unrestricted U.S. licensure and either two years of practice as an RN in rehabilitation or one year of practice as an RN in rehibition and one year of advanced study (beyond baccalaureate). The CRRN exam is a computer based, and 175 multiple choice questions. 25 questions of the test are the pretest and will not be scored. The lime limit for the test is 3 hours.

            The CRRN certification is valid for a 5-year period. To renew a CRRN certification the nurse must meet the following requirements have a current, unrestricted RN license, complete 1,000 hours of rehabilitation nursing experience within your 5-year certification period, complete at least 60 points of credit that meet the criteria with your 5-year certification period. Ways to earn the 60 points of credit include continuing education, presentation of rehabilitation nursing content to nurses and other healthcare professionals, academic coursework, publication, community service, etc. If these requirements are met the nurse can retake the CRRN exam, which is the same as the initial exam. 

            Overall, I feel that the nursing certifications can be stressful. There is so much work to do and I think it can be very overwhelming. Nurses are often looked down on and not given as much credit as they deserve for going through these certifications and gaining the knowledge that they have. I think that nursing certifications are a great thing, because it gives nurses room for a career advancement. 

            

 

-       Providing direct patient care as a SANE

-        Taking on-call shifts to respond to patients as a SANE 

-       Teaching SANEs

-       Consulting regarding SANE issues/cases 

-       Engaging in peer review of SANE cases 

Next, registered nurses must pass an examination. In order to be able to sit to take this exam, one must have been a practicing RN for a minimum of 2 years. These exams are held internationally and held twice a year in April and September.

5.  Maintenance of Certification- Certification for a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner is valid for a period of 3 years. Having your certification renewed every 3 years means that you will remain up to date with current best practices and emerging knowledge. To become renewed as a SANE one must: 

1.     Hold current certification in the renewing specialty 

2.     Hold an active, unrestricted license as a first-level general nurse in the US or a US territory 

3.     Have practiced as a sexual assault nurse examiner for a minimum of 300 hours in the past 3 years. At least 200 of those 300 hours must compromise SANE related practice that is focused on the certification that you seek to renew. 

4.     Obtain either the required continuing education hours 

OR 

Achieve a passing score on the certification examination 

6.  Overall Impression- After completing this assignment, I realized just how much work it truly is to become certified for a specific specialty within nursing. Specifically for becoming a SANE, I didn’t realize how many hours of work you needed to have. I believe that it is very important to become certified, it proves that a nurse has the right set of skills to do their job to the best of their abilities. 

I chose to explore the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing certification because I would like to work in a specialty that involves children or infants. Being a NICU nurse is challenging because you are working with very sick babies, so it is important that you have all the necessary tools that are needed to provide great patient care. I find it valuable to always stay up to date on your knowledge and continue to better yourself as a nurse, so completing this certification is definitely something that I would be interested in. 

To be eligible to obtain the NICU nurse certification a nurse must work as a NICU nurse for two years with 2,000 patient care hours and have an RN license in either the US or Canada. In order to obtain the certification, a nurse has to pass the NICU nurse exam. The application cost $50 and the test itself costs $275. The test can be up to 175 questions, including the pretest questions, and the nurse will have three hours to complete it. There are five content areas like general assessment and general management that make up the test, and the test will be scored on a pass/fail basis. 

The Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing certification is only valid for three years and in order to maintain this certification the nurse must take a continuing competency assessment to create an education plan that will determine the number of hours of CE that is needed in a specific area. The education plan will lay out what must be completed, and all CE hours must be done by the end of the nurse’s current maintenance period.

After reading about nursing certifications, I definitely believe a lot of nurses should strive to complete a certification. It may be a difficult process, but it allows nurses to advance in their careers and makes sure they have the skills necessary to succeed in their specialty. When reading about the NICU nurse certification, I took note of how hard it was to maintain. I knew that the original certification would have a lot of requirements, but I did not know the maintenance would be so difficult. Certification is valuable because it proves how hard the nurse is willing to work to advance in their specialty and demonstrates that they have the proper amount of knowledge and experience in their field. 

Nursing certification provides recognition for a nurse's skill-set, specialized knowledge, and their personal experiences in a specialized area of work. Furthermore, it ensures patients, families, and employers that the nurse who is taking care of them is well equipped with knowledge and numerous specialized skills in order to provide such care in a specific area. It is valued and extremely important to the nursing field because it proves that the nurse's most important goal is safety, quality care, and a strong healthcare system that focuses on their patients' well-being. Without certification, patients may feel unsafe and employers would not be able to prove that their nurses are qualified and or have enough experience in that field to properly care for others. 

IDENTIFIED AREA OF NURSING CERTIFICATION

Specifically, I chose to talk about Trauma Certified Registered Nurses or TCRNs. I chose this area because I would really like to learn more about it and how I would obtain my certification for this type of work. I think I want to work in an environment that is fast paced and changing daily, so this may be a good area for me to at least look into. 

REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION

In order to receive this certification, a nurse would need to have a valid, unrestricted, U.S, or equivalent RN license before taking the BCEN/TCRN certification exam. Additionally, the nurse must meet two years or 1,000 hours in trauma nursing, including direct and indirect patient care.

HOW TO OBTAIN CERTIFICATION IN THIS AREA

 To obtain this certification nurses must submit their TCRN application, complete 1,000 hours in trauma nursing and pass a test called the TCRN certification exam via in person or through an online proctored test. According to the “Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing,” the BCEN exam is the only source for trauma care nurses and their employers to gain recognized certification for their knowledge and performance. Furthermore, the “Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing” states that BCEN exams are based on specialty nursing role delineation studies and are developed by an exam committee of nurses who practice in the specific exam’s specialty area and represent diverse geography. This way, the test can have accurate and practical questions to ensure that nurses taking the exam have the proper knowledge to perform the job. Finally, nurses must answer 104 items correctly out of the 150 score items given to pass the exam.

MAINTENANCE IF CERTIFICATION

In order to maintain their certification as a trauma certified RN, said nurse would need to retake the certification exam every four years or prove to have continued their education (CE) hours. Some renewal frequencies may vary; however, once you have received a certification you should have to renew these requirements every four years.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

After learning about nursing certifications, I can understand why it is an important aspect for not only patients, but the nurses and employers as well. It has been made clear that patients and families feel more safe when they know a nurse is certified, but it also shows employers that specific individuals have put in the time and effort to receive their certifications. With that being said, it is more likely that these nurses will get a better or more reliable job within a hospital. Lastly, certificates protect nurses so that in the event their knowledge is being tested, they are able to show proof of their hard earned qualifications. I believe that TCRN certification can be difficult to acquire, but it would serve any nurse well in their future career and allow them to work to their full potential. I think striving for this certification would definitely be beneficial, and personally it would make me feel more confident when performing tasks at work. Finally, the value of being certified in a specific field of work can bring about many benefits and provides a sense of safety for all involved. I think all nurses should feel satisfied and accomplished after receiving a new type of certification because it proves that they are prepared for their job, have put in numerous hours of experience, and possess the knowledge it takes to work as that specific type of nurse.

The area of nursing certification I chose was the trauma certified registered nurse. This certification allows nurses to work with patients that require treatment for potentially life-threatening injuries or illnesses. I chose this specific certification because I was particularly interested in this field and wanted to know more about the requirements to be certified. Additionally, all of my previous jobs have been very hands-on and I feel as though this specialty would be a good fit for me.

To be eligible for the BCEN certification exam, an individual must obtain a valid, unrestricted, U.S. or equivalent RN license. The BCEN recommends around 2 years’ of experience in your area of specialty, but it is not required to take the exam. International candidates must go through the BCEN’s International Credential Evaluation service, which will verify that the degree meets the standards of the United States. 

First to obtain a certification, individuals must create a profile on the BCEN website. Afterwards, an individual has to check their eligibility through the website. After their nursing license has been deemed eligible, they can fill out an application and pay. When the payment has gone through, an individual will receive an email from the BCEN that details the 90-day test window, how to schedule the exam appointment with the provider, where to access the handbook, and helpful information on how to prepare for the exam. After receiving the email from BCEN, an individual can sign up for a testing time. One can take the exam in person or from their own home through a live remote proctor. While preparation for the exam isn’t necessarily required, it comes highly recommended from the BCEN. Once it comes time to take the exam, you will provide valid identification and complete the exam within a 3-hour time frame. If you completed the exam through a live remote proctor, your results will appear directly after completion. If you are testing within a designated center, you will receive your score from the test administrator minutes after completion. When the exam is successfully completed, you are able to utilize the certification credential. 

A TCRN certification needs to be renewed around every four years. To obtain a renewal of the certification, one must complete 100 contact hours within the 4 year certification period. An alternate method would be to retake the BCEN exam through live remote proctoring. 

After completing this assignment, I believe that nursing certifications are an extremely important concept, as they enable nurses to be more qualified than others in their specialty. While looking further into the certification for trauma nursing, I realized that obtaining this certification is extremely manageable while working. With no requirements past having your valid, unrestricted RN license, I believe that this certification could be very manageable and beneficial for nurses who wish to work and explore another field. Certifications are extremely valuable because they create trust between the patient and care provider and allow hospitals to differentiate themselves among competitors. 

-       A nursing certification is rewarded to a person that demonstrates and achieves the proper skills, knowledge and experience of the nursing field. Nursing certifications are important for a number of different reasons. The certification proves to each patient that the individual treating them has met the requirements and qualifications to become a nurse. Nursing certifications make sure only the most qualified and trained individuals are able to treat patients as a nurse. 

 

Area of Nursing:

-       I chose to do ICU (Intensive Care Unit) Nursing. My mom worked in the ICU for 12 years and she always had the craziest stories. I find this area of nursing to be so interesting because there is such a wide variety of patients that could be treated. Nothing is also ever the same and you never know what you are going to deal with in this area of nursing. I love to experience new things so I felt this area of nursing would be the most interesting to me. 

 

Certification Process & Requirements: 

-       The first step to becoming an ICU nurse is becoming a registered nurse (RN) by completing the education requirements and passing the NCLEX exam. After these individuals have to gain at least two years of experience in a position that specializes in intensive care nursing. The final step that most individuals follow is earning the Certification for Adult Critical Care Nurses (CCRN). This certification is awarded by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. In order to be eligible to take the CCRN exam, nurses must practice as a registered nurse or APRN for 1,750 hours in direct care of acute/critically ill pediatric patients during the previous two years (875 of the hours must be completed in the most recent year). Individuals can also qualify to take the CCRN exam by practicing as a registered nurse or APRN for at least 5 years with a minimum of 2,000 hours in direct care of acutely/critically ill pediatric patients (144 of the hours have to completed in the most recent year of application). There is different criteria that the hours have to meet in order for them to count. 

 

Maintaining Certification:

-       CCRN last for a 3-year period. During the 3 years, individuals must stay up to date on registered nurses’ licensure or APRN licensure. Individuals can maintain CCRN renewal through two ways. They can either use the Synergy CERPs (Continuing Education Recognition Point) or earn renewal by exam. In order to do continued education during the three-year period, individuals must complete 100 CERPs. 60 of the CERPs must be in Category A and at least 10 of the CERPS must be in Categories B and C. Individuals that want to gain renewal through the exam  must meet the eligibility requirements to take the exam that were mentioned earlier. Once they do this they must apply, take and pass the CCRN exam before their scheduled 3-year renewal date. 

 

Overall Impression:

-       From this assignment, I realized how much work goes into different nursing certifications. It is a never ending of processing of renewing and completing hours. If I were to ever go into nursing I still would have an interest in ICU nursing. ICU nursing is very fast paced so I can see why there is so many requirements in order to obtain and renew the certification. 

 

 

Above is a link to the CCRN renewal handbook, that I found a lot of great information in.