CCNS
Eligibility Changes Meet State Requirements
Candidates for
the CCNS certification exam for adult,
pediatric and neonatal clinical nurse
specialists in acute and critical care must
now have 500 hours of academically
supervised practice hours. The change to the
eligibility requirements was recommended by
the National Council of State Boards of
Nursing.
Effective March
1, 2006, nurses seeking CCNS certification
must complete the 500-hour clinical
requirement. Prior to that date, applicants
whose academic program did not include 500
hours of faculty-supervised clinical
practicum must make up the deficiency
through a transcripted clinical experience
arranged through an accredited college or
university that offers a CNS program in
acute and critical care.
The new
eligibility standards meet the highest
common denominator of state requirements as
AACN Certification Corporation continues to
pursue expanded recognition of CCNS
certification as meeting state boards of
nursing criteria for advanced practice
designation or licensure. To date, CCNS
certification is accepted in 22
states�Alabama, California, Connecticut,
Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey,
New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah
Virginia and Wisconsin.
The new language
requires a candidate to complete a graduate
advanced practice education program meeting
the following criteria:
� The program is
offered by an accredited college or
university that offers a master�s degree or
higher in nursing with a concentration as an
acute or critical care CNS.
� Both direct
and indirect clinical supervision must be
congruent with current AACN and nursing
accreditation guidelines.
� The curriculum
includes, but is not limited to biological,
behavioral, medical and nursing sciences
relevant to CNS practice, including
pathophysiology, pharmacology and physical
assessment; legal, ethical and professional
responsibilities of the CNS; and supervised
clinical practice relevant to the specialty
of acute and critical care.
� The curriculum
is consistent with competencies of acute and
critical care CNS practice; the
instructional track or major has a minimum
of 500 supervised clinical hours overall;
and the supervised clinical experience is
directly related to the knowledge and role
components of the acute and critical care
CNS
For additional
information about the CCNS certification
exam or the eligibility requirements visit
our website.
AACN Value
of Certification Award
Kerry Ann C.
Forbes, RN, BSN, CCRN, of Antioch, Tenn.,
and the Aultman Heart Center, North Canton,
Ohio, are the first recipients of the Circle
of Excellence AACN Value of Certification
Award for 2004.
Sponsored by
AACN Certification Corporation, this award
recognizes contributions that support and
foster the advancement of certified nursing
practice in critical care. Recipients are
also presented a $500 honorarium.
The award
recipients will be recognized during AACN�s
National Teaching Institute and Critical
Care Exposition, May 15 through 20 in
Orlando, Fla. The deadline to submit
nominations for this and other Circle of
Excellence awards is July 15.
Nominations Invited for Positions on AACN
Certification Corporation Board
The annual Call
for Nominations of leaders to fill positions
on the AACN Certification Corporation Board
of Directors is under way. Terms begin July
1, 2005.
Information
about open board positions, as well as about
available positions on the AACN Board of
Directors and AACN Nominating Committee is
available online at www.aacn.org >
Nomination.
The Nomination
Form is also available online and will be
included in the May issue of AACN News.
Nominations
close on June 11.
CCRN Exam
Unavailable During Revisions
The CCRN
certification examination will NOT be
available at AMP assessment centers from May
17 through July 9 as revised exam forms are
prepared and distributed to the testing
centers.
Eligibility
periods will be extended to allow exam
candidates the full 90 days to schedule and
sit for the CCRN exam. Computer-based
testing will resume on July 12.
Subspecialties Analyzed
Members of
the Cardiology Subspecialty Practice
Analysis Task Force and the Cardiovascular
Surgery Practice Analysis
Task Force
met recently to begin laying the groundwork
for two new certification examinations
planned by AACN
Certification
Corporation.
For the
Record
Congratulations
to the following nurses who achieved CCRN
certification during 2003. Their names were
omitted from a list of newly certified CCRNs
that appeared in the February 2004 issue of
AACN News.
Dorothy J.
Anderson, Tammie L. Bekas, Tamara G. Crews,
Shannon K. Dayhoof, Paula R. Dominique,
Randy Lyle Downey II, Jennifer L. Easley,
Kiersten Henry, Kimberly A. Jarecki, Linda
M. Johnson, Ashleigh E. Lafranz, Dawn
LeQuatte, Lori M. Mondeaux, Amy M. Pierce,
Karen A. Ryan, Kimberly D. Sexton, Heather
M. Strickling, Robert A. Wisdom, Jennifer
Zanotti, Dolores M. Zongolowicz.
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