On September 17, BCEN was pleased to announce our 2025 National Certification Champion Award – Large Healthcare Facility category winner:
Hackensack University Medical Center – Adult and Pediatric Emergency Department
Hackensack, New Jersey
What does being named a BCEN National Certification Champion mean to your organization and the communities you serve?
Being named a BCEN National Certification Champion is a profound honor for our organization and a clear testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence. For the communities we serve, this recognition signifies that the care they receive during their most vulnerable moments is provided by nurses with the highest levels of validated expertise in emergency, trauma, and transport nursing. This advanced knowledge directly leads to improved quality of care through more accurate assessments, critical thinking, and life-saving interventions, resulting in better patient outcomes.
This achievement reassures our community that they are cared for by a team dedicated to meeting the most rigorous national standards. Internally, this distinguished recognition serves as a source of pride for our nurses, reflecting their hard work and dedication. Pursuing and maintaining board certification is a significant personal and professional milestone, and this award affirms their commitment to lifelong learning and clinical excellence.
Additionally, it fosters a culture of empowerment and professionalism, inspiring all our team members to reach their highest potential. Ultimately, being named a BCEN National Certification Champion is more than just an award; it symbolizes the strong partnership between our organization and our nurses in delivering the safest, most effective care possible for our patients.
What sets nurses who are board certified through BCEN apart in their daily practice and in their professional development and career trajectories?
Nurses who hold a BCEN specialty certification — such as the CEN, CPEN, TCRN, CFRN, CTRN, or CBRN — are recognized for their proven expertise, enhanced critical thinking skills, and strong professional dedication, all of which are reflected in their daily work. These certified nurses demonstrate greater confidence and foresight in their clinical practice.
Their certification signifies a broad and specialized knowledge base that enables them to do more than merely respond to patient needs. They are adept at recognizing subtle clinical signs, anticipating complications, and quickly analyzing complex information to make evidence-based decisions. This proactive approach is essential in high-pressure environments, contributing to improved patient safety and ensuring more effective and efficient care.
Certified nurses often become key resources within their units, mentoring colleagues and raising overall clinical standards through their leadership and expertise. From a career advancement perspective, obtaining and maintaining a specialty certification clearly demonstrates a nurse’s commitment to excellence and continuous learning. It sets them apart when seeking advanced roles such as charge nurse, educator, or management positions. This credential serves as an official endorsement of their skills, enhancing their credibility with colleagues, physicians, and leadership. As a result, certified nurses often find quicker paths to leadership roles and specialized opportunities, having already shown dedication to their specialty and the advancement of nursing standards.
As your nurses earn an emergency, trauma, transport or burn specialty credential, what changes do you notice in them and the teams they work with?
When our nurses obtain specialty certifications, we notice a significant positive transformation in both the individuals and their teams. The most immediate change is an increase in clinical confidence. Newly certified nurses carry themselves with greater assurance, supported by a comprehensive body of knowledge. They no longer rely solely on protocols; they understand the underlying physiology and evidence-based rationale. This deeper understanding empowers them to anticipate patient needs and potential complications, enhancing their critical thinking skills.
This personal growth creates a ripple effect throughout their teams. Certified nurses are more engaged beyond bedside care — they ask insightful questions during meetings, mentor new graduates, and serve as trusted clinical resources. Their involvement often extends to formal roles, such as volunteering for unit councils, participating in quality improvement committees, and leading evidence-based projects. Rather than simply working within the system, they are driven to improve it, motivated by the confidence that their certification provides.
One of the most rewarding changes we observe is a significant increase in professional satisfaction and joy at work. Attaining a specialty certification is a challenging achievement, and accomplishing it renews nurses’ sense of purpose and pride. Feeling valued as an expert enhances their happiness and resilience, which is essential in these demanding specialties. For the organization, this results in a workforce that is more skilled, engaged, stable, and committed to providing the best possible care for our community.
What do you most want other healthcare organizations to know about why and how to support nursing specialty certification?
What we most want other healthcare organizations to understand is that supporting nursing specialty certification is not an expense — it is one of the most valuable investments you can make in your patients, your nurses, and your organization’s future. The reason is simple: certification provides a direct pathway to safer, higher-quality patient care. A certified nurse brings validated, standardized advanced knowledge to the bedside, which measurably improves patient outcomes, reduces errors, and enhances the critical thinking of the entire team. It is the foundation of building a culture of clinical excellence and a crucial element in the pursuit of becoming a high-reliability organization.
The “how” involves creating a comprehensive support system that removes barriers and actively promotes this achievement. This begins with a clear financial commitment: covering the costs of review courses and exams, and considering an offer of a certification bonus or pay differential to recognize the advanced skills. But financial support alone is not enough. Organizations must also provide structural support by hosting in-house study groups led by certified mentors, offering access to review materials, and providing paid time for professional development. This demonstrates a strong, institutional belief in the value of certification.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, support must be cultural. Celebrate every nurse who earns their credential. Highlight them in newsletters, announce their achievement during department meetings, and create a “Wall of Fame” to showcase their accomplishment. Integrate certification into your clinical ladder and leadership development pathways, making it a clear route for career advancement. When leadership consistently and actively champions certification, it shifts from being a personal goal to a shared organizational value. The return on this investment is priceless, manifesting in higher nurse retention, better recruitment of top talent, a stronger community reputation, and the confidence that your patients are in the most capable hands.
In nominating his workplace for this award, Hackensack Meridian Health Nurse Manager William Solomos, MSN, RN, CEN, said:
“At Hackensack University Medical Center, we truly value and celebrate the contributions of our BCEN-certified nurses through a multifaceted approach that includes recognition, financial rewards, and career advancement opportunities. We go beyond simply acknowledging certification; we actively foster a culture that encourages and supports it.
We recognize that this commitment not only benefits individual nurses but also strengthens our organization as a whole, fostering a culture of professional excellence and patient-centered care.”
Hackensack University Medical Center President and Chief Hospital Executive Lisa K. Tank, MD, MBA, FACP, said:
“Receiving the BCEN National Certification Champion Award is a profound honor that shines a spotlight exactly where it belongs: on our extraordinary emergency nursing team. This award celebrates their selfless spirit and the deeply compassionate care they provide around the clock. Their commitment to achieving specialty certification is a testament to their dedication to both personal and professional excellence. There is no group more deserving. We are incredibly proud of their tireless efforts and the remarkable difference they make in the lives of our patients.”
Hackensack University Medical Center CNO Ramonita Jiménez, DNP, MPA, RN, NEA-BC said:
“This BCEN National Certification Champion Award is a powerful testament to the culture of excellence we foster at Hackensack University Medical Center. We believe in investing in our team, and this award highlights our collective commitment to supporting our nurses as they pursue advanced specialty certification. I am incredibly proud of our ED nurses, whose drive for continuous learning ensures our patients receive the most expert emergency care possible.”
