![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.gif)
Saturday, 16 November 2013
Learning Objective 1: State strategies to promote and support certification within an organization.
Learning Objective 2: Identify direct and indirect outcomes that support promotion of nursing specialty certification within an organization.
Professional nursing certification programs have shown a value and benefit to nurses and healthcare organizations (Niebuhr & Biel, 2007). Our organization recognized the importance of nursing certification not only to the nurse, but also to patients and families. Efforts to encourage and promote pediatric specialty certifications began in 2006 through the nursing education department with the development of a certification review course. As we embarked on our Magnet™ journey in 2010, there was a new found enthusiasm for professional development. The promotion and support of professional development and certification became part of the organization’s culture, a collaborative effort between the Structural Empowerment Council, nurse leaders, and nurse educators to emphasize the importance of certification to our nursing staff was developed. New strategies were created to support and promote the awareness, interest, and preparedness of our organization's nursing staff for certification courses. These strategies included resources for successful examination, tuition reimbursement, recognition programs, and promotional events to advocate certification courses. Success of these strategies was evidenced by a nationally recognized certification rate of 40% within our organization in 2012. In 2006, our institution employed 32 certified pediatric nurses compared to 252 in 2013. Other direct outcomes include over 250 nurses attending review courses over past 3 years and expansion of specialty review courses to include CCRN and CPEN, attendants at three professional fairs, and an increase in my clinical ladder promotions over 100%. Indirect outcomes, as referred to in the literature, are job satisfaction for nurses and a 4.5% decrease in turnover rate since 2008. Professional nursing certification has been shown to be a perceived benefit of nurses. To achieve successful certification programs, organizational support is necessary to achieve positive outcomes as demonstrated within our hospital.