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Vol. 23, No. 11, NOVEMBER 2006

Certification Q & A

What happens to your subspecialty credential when your specialty certification expires?
The honor statement in the CMC/CSC Handbook states “I agree to notify AACN Certification Corporation if my clinical nursing specialty certification lapses.”
The subspecialty certifications are not stand-alone credentials, so nurses would not be able to display the subspecialty credential without a current nationally accredited clinical specialty certification.

Would supervising students at the bedside count toward bedside hours for CMC/CSC eligibility?
Yes, as long as the hours are spent supervising nurses or nursing students caring for acutely and/or critically ill cardiac patients as specified in the CMC or CSC eligibility requirements.

With the new Renewal by Synergy CERPs, would home study courses count for CERPs?
Yes, CE offered through home study can count for CERPs if the topics meet the definitions of the categories. (1 contact hour = 1 CERP)

Do CME credits count toward CERPs?
Yes, CME credits could count toward CERPs if they meet the definitions of the categories. (1 CME credit = 1 CERP)

I work in ED. Do my hours count for the PCCN exam eligibility?
Yes, if you work with acutely and critically ill patients regardless of the setting, including the Emergency Department, the hours could count for eligibility for the PCCN exam. The PCCN exam is a high- acuity exam that does not test hemodynamic monitoring or ventilator management, and has a heavier emphasis on cardiovascular patient problems than the CCRN exam.

Encouraging Words

The following messages were among those written by nurses at the NTI 2006 Certification Celebration to encourage those considering certification. Postcards with the handwritten messages are being included in exam handbooks and other certification preparation materials.

Just like the “little engine that could,” you can believe that your efforts to prepare for your certification will take you to the top of this challenge and you will succeed! Come join us, over 40,000 strong, who have had your dream and have said "I think I can, I think I can" and now proudly wear the credentials of our success.

Dear Future Certified Nurse, I want to encourage you to study, sit for and pass your certification exam. You will be so glad you did. While I dreaded opening those books again, once I started learning it made my job so exciting. I had so many “ah ha!” moments where I connected what I did on a daily basis to why I did it and why it worked. This exam validates what you already know and already do as second nature. It is hard, and you have to study but it is so worth it. Come join a powerful voice in healthcare.

A certified nurse inspired me to take the exam. I had been “on the fence” and hesitated taking the exam, even though I had accumulated books and review materials, and had attended seminars for six years. A CCRN said to me “What’s the worst that can happen if you don't pass? Nothing. What's the best thing? You validate your incredible knowledge and skills. Get on with it." And I did. You can too!

I was where you are; you already know you care, you already know you’re a great nurse. Prove to yourself and others you can take it a step further and become certified!

Just do it. Study hard. You will use what you have learned each day. You will discover places to make a difference in outcome you never knew about before. You will feel great about being a nurse again!

ACNPC Exam Development Committee
The ACNPC Exam Development Committee met recently to review and approve items for the ACNPC exam. Members include (left side, front to back) Peggy Kirkwood, Elizabeth Mattox, Evelyn Perez, Judith Church, P. Milo Frawley, staff liaisons Carol Hartigan and Karen Harvey and (right side, back to front) board liaison Maria Shirey, Lynn Kelso, Cynthia Kociszewski, Linda Prinkey-Briggs, Kimberly Quinn and Stacy James.



Online Certification Exam Registration Now Available

Certification exam registration is now available online for the CCRN (Adult, Pediatric, and Neonatal) and the Progressive Care (PCCN) specialties and the Cardiac Medicine (CMC) and Cardiac Surgery (CSC) subspecialties. Online registration will significantly shorten the six to eight weeks application processing time needed for a paper application. If you register online, our testing service will contact you by mail two to three weeks after you apply to let you know how to schedule your exam appointment. For more information, visit www.certcorp.org > What’s New.

CCNS Exam Deadline

Only one month remains before the deadline to have transcripted clinical hours for CNS program deficiencies and to be eligible to sit for the CCNS exam. If you plan to take the CCNS exam, please evaluate your eligibility now. If your transcript is deficient when the window closes Dec. 31, 2006, you will not be able to make up the hours; consequently, you will not be eligible to sit for the exam.

CCRN, PCCN and CCNS Exams Approved for VA Reimbursement

Only one month remains before the deadline to have transcripted clinical hours for CNS program deficiencies and to be eligible to sit for the CCNS exam. If you plan to take the CCNS exam, please evaluate your eligibility now. If your transcript is deficient when the window closes Dec. 31, 2006, you will not be able to make up the hours; consequently, you will not be eligible to sit for the exam.
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