Table of Contents
National certification in nursing is available for the registered nurse to show. Their commitment in their area of practice. By obtaining national certification in a specialty. Nurses will gain and demonstrate professionalism. Commitment to maintaining competence. Satisfaction and specialized knowledge in their area of practice. It can even validate their experience in that specialty area. Nurses have a variety of sub specialty area where they can get their certification in. Specialty certified nurses improve the standard of practice throughout the profession. And will improve patient safety, associated with patient outcome. To become certified, nurses must have to go through exams, by successfully completing the exams can achieve a national certification in nursing specialties. National certification in a nursing specialty holds numerous benefits for nurses, patients, families and even organization.
Benefits to the Nurse’s Professional Career
National certification in nursing holds numerous benefits. They have personal as well as professional benefits. They will receive professional achievements, professional credibility, and high pay. Certified nurses are always in demand in the nursing field, because they increase the quality of the nursing practice. According to the Nephrology Nursing Journal, certified nurse’s shows increased confidence with earlier intervention skills to prevent problems as well as more frequent and effective nurse, physician problems (Williams, H. F., & Counts, C. S, 2013).
The process of certification guarantees the public that nurses has maintained a level of knowledge in their specialty. Renewing the certification can make them up to date with advanced development in their specialty. High pay or salary is another benefit of nurses. Many hospitals pay more for the nurses who have certification. These days, most of the nursing managers are trying to hire nurses with specialty certifications because the manager knows that they can provide their best in their clinical practice by providing a high quality care for the patients (Williams, H. F., & Counts, C. S, 2013). So certified nurses are highly in demand in the healthcare facility, so they receive higher salaries.
Benefits to the Patients
Critically ill patients expect to receive high quality treatments from the healthcare professionals. Certified nurse providing care for the patient can increase their confidence level of providing a healing environment for the patient. Certifications are a quality of the nurses that attracts patients. One of the main important benefits to patients is patient safety. According to the Journal of Nursing Scholarship, an evidence based research has been done on patient outcome from nursing certification.
Research showed that nurses with certification had lower 30 day mortality and failure to rescue rates for surgical patients. And also they found out that proportion of registered nurses with certification had decreased the patient fall rate (Kendall-Gallagher, D., Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., & Cimiotti, J. P, 2011). So the evidence based research has proven that national certification in nursing has a great impact on patient outcomes.
Benefits to the Hospital or Organization
The value of certification benefits the employers in the hospital organization in a significant way. Hiring more of certified nurses can increase the reputation of the hospital, and it can be recognized under the joint commission (JCAHO). According to the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Certification Corporation, hospital organization supporting the certification can provide a competition between the hospitals in the hospital economy.
Hospitals or organizations supporting the national certification in nursing can create more satisfaction in workplace for nurses, so the chances of nurses leaving the hospital and looking for another job are less (American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Certification Corporation, 2016). In order to support the nurse to stay in the hospital, employers can support more certification and educations for the nurses by providing classes and paying for the certifications.
Conclusion
Nurses who validate their proficiency through specialty certification can set the standard of the profession. Which help their patients, employers, the coworkers around them and including themselves. There are increasing researches has proven that nurses with national specialty certification provide quality care for the patients, build confidence and credibility, and shows dedication to the nursing profession. Certified nurses are the role model of professional accountability. So the national specialty nursing certification demonstrates a positive impact on patients, staffs, organization, and on the nursing profession.