AACN News—April 2004—Certification

Vol. 21, No. 4, APRIL 2004

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.