Paper
Friday, July 23, 2004
Value of Certification Among Noncertificants, Certificants, and Administrators in Perioperative Nursing
Jane S. Leske, RN, PhD, College of Nursing, College of Nursing, University of WI-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Discuss differences among noncertificants, certificants, and administrators to the value of certification |
| Learning Objective #2: Identify characteristics of nurses who obtain certification |
Objective: The purpose was to: (a) determine if there are differences in responses to value of certification among three groups: non-certificants, certificants, and administrators; (b) evaluate the effect of certification status, years of nursing experience, years of perioperative nursing experience, employment role, and age on perceived value of certification; and (3) determine the ability of the 18-item Perceived Value of Certification Tool (PVCT©) to predict certification status. Design: A descriptive, comparative design was used. Sample: Participants were obtained from a stratified random sample of U.S. members from Certification Board Perioperative Nursing, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, and American Organization of Nurse Executives. Methods: A modification of the Dillman methodology for survey research was used for the mailed questionnaire. Findings: The final sample and mailed response rates were: 675 non-certificants (39% of N=2000), 954 certificants (77% of N=1250), and 694 administrators (57% of N=1250). Results indicated that the non-certificants were younger (F=43.05,p<.0001), had fewer years of nursing (F=75.66,p<.0001) and perioperative experience (F=135.25,p<.0001) than the other two groups. There were significant differences between the non-certified and certified nurses on the intrinsic (t=14.09,p<.0001) and extrinsic (t=9.04,p<.0001) constructs of the tool. When employment roles of nurses were compared, there were significant differences for both the intrinsic (F=8.36,p<.0001) and extrinsic (F=5.33,p<.0001) constructs. Participant age, years of nursing experience and years of perioperative nursing experience were not related to either construct. Conclusions: Years of perioperative nursing experience and PVCT items relating to: professional commitment, professional credibility, accountability, attainment of a practice standard, and marketability were positively predictive of certification status. The PVCT item related to professional challenge was negatively predictive of certification status as were years of nursing experience, having other certifications and increase levels of education. Implications: These findings indicate that nurses who value professional commitment and credibility are most likely to obtain certification.
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