Becoming a Nurse – 5 Benefits to Getting a Certification
Certification, as defined by the American Board of Nursing Specialties in 2007, is “the formal recognition of the specialized knowledge, skills, and experience demonstrated by the achievement of standards identified by a nursing specialty to promote optimal health outcomes.”
Since achieving certification in your specialty requires you to meet strict educational and practice requirements and pass a challenging comprehensive examination, you may be wondering if the benefits are worth your time and effort. Here are the 5 benefits you should be aware of before making your decision.
Increased Public Safety
Although certification emerged as a way to designate remarkable excellence in a specialty, particularly in advanced nursing practice, it has developed into a requirement for many other nursing fields. Certification promotes public safety by setting a hallmark credential for health care employers and patients to evaluate competence. Since many employers require nursing applicants to obtain and maintain certification in their area of practice, patients can feelreassured that the care they are receiving measures up to a national quality standard.In addition, certified nurses are thought to be better able to promote positive outcomes in patient care, and to avoid common errors.
Higher Salary
In 2001, the Nursing Credentialing Research Coalition (NCRC) surveyed over 19,000 certified nurses across various specialties. Nineteen percent of the nurses reported a salary increase connected with their certification. In addition, certified nurses’ salaries were shown to be significantly higher than nurses without certification in their practice specialty. And according to Nursing 2005’s Salary Survey, nurses who have certification in their specialty area earn about $8,000 per year more than nurses who don’t have certification.
Better Career Opportunities
According to the NCRC’s 2001 survey, 11% of the nurses advanced their career after becoming certified.“Obtaining a national certification in medical investigation complemented my risk management training and definitely enhanced my knowledge of investigative techniques,” says Dr. Dianne Ditmer, a clinical nurse educator at Kettering Medical Center ina 2006 interview published by The Forensic Examiner. Dr. Ditmer has a background in risk management and emergency nursing.She goes on to add, “Credentialing has enhanced my current role as educator and led to national speaking engagements, program development, and respect among peers and colleagues.”
Recognition by Patients and Co-Workers
Nearly 40% of nurses surveyed by NCRC reported receiving recognition from their peers for being experts in their field. An additional 32% said that their certifications were recognized or publicized in their places of employment.“I have had many nursestell me how great it is that I am a certified emergency nurse,” says Amy Solomon in the Indiana State NursesAssociation Bulletin.
Personal Growth
Nearly 100% of NCRC-surveyed nurses reported experiencing personal growth as a result of certification. They said they felt more satisfaction as professional nurses, as well as an increase in confidence, overall competence, and credibility. Certified nurses also scored more highly in self-esteem tests. Amy, the nurse mentioned above, was encouraged to take the certification exam by her mentor. She displays significant personal and professional growth, saying confidently, “few nurses in my neck of the woods have taken the initiative to study and take the test. I am very proud and very happy to have passed. I plan on taking the CCRN next, and continuing to get my Bachelor’s degree and then my Master’s. I would like to encourage every RN to take the initiative and take the BCEN exam.If I can do it, you can too.”
Think about your own nursing career goals and personal growth path. If you are serious about promoting public safety and would like to enjoy expanded career and salary options, as well as receiving recognition and a boost in self-esteem, find out what you need to do to qualifyfor certification in your specialty. You may need to take additional educational courses or complete a certain number of practice hours before you can attempt the exam.
Fortunately, most educational requirements can be completed while you continue working, as many accredited institutions offer online programs to help you attain certification. Take the first step today on the path to certification, and in less time than you think, you could be enjoying the rewards.
