Healthcare practitioners everywhere know that specialized care is required for patients with burn injuries and their families. When RNs and APRNs who deliver burn care master the knowledge, skills and abilities through all phases of burn care, including injury recovery and rehabilitation, they help ensure optimal patient outcomes.
As such, the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) is developing the world’s first burn nursing specialty certification — the Certified Burn Registered Nurse (CBRN). BCEN’s partner on this very important endeavor is the American Burn Association (ABA). The ABA and members of the burn community have been working toward this end for several years.
Major milestones leading to the introduction of a national burn nursing specialty certification are outlined below. Please visit this page for updates.
Burn Nursing Certification Milestones
November 2022
BCEN publishes the Certified Burn Registered Nurse (CBRN) Exam Content Outline, which represents the burn nursing specialty body of knowledge. The content outline serves as a blueprint for the CBRN exam and is an important resource for nurses studying for the exam. Read BCEN’s Nov. 2 announcement.
September 2022
Burn nurse subject matter experts from across the U.S. attend BCEN’s item writer workshop to begin the development of test questions for the CBRN exam. Under the guidance of the newly formed CBRN Exam Construction and Review Committee, volunteer CBRN item writers from every region of the United States will develop exam items throughout the rest of the year and into 2023.
Late Spring/Early Summer 2022
Members of the BCEN Burn Nursing RDS Advisory Committee draft and finalize the Certified Burn Registered Nurse (CBRN) Exam Content Outline. The outline will be reviewed and approved by the BCEN board of directors and published later this year. Learn more in “CBRN Update: July 2022.”
March/April 2022
BCEN nursing specialty certification experts, American Burn Association (ABA) burn nursing subject matter experts, and BCEN test development partner PSI Services conduct the initial Burn Nursing Role Delineation Study (RDS) survey to define the burn nursing scope of practice and body of knowledge. Read BCEN’s March 15 announcement about the Certified Burn Registered Nurse (CBRN).
The 405 burn nurses who completed the 154-question BCEN Burn Nursing RDS Survey (53% completion rate) played a very important role in defining and validating burn nurse roles, responsibilities and competencies (knowledge, skills and abilities). The results of the survey will help determine the content of the CBRN exam and be the basis for the detailed exam content outline.
Fall/Winter 2021
Subject matter experts are selected for a burn nursing role delineation study (RDS), which then gets underway in early 2022.
The ABA continues drafting a core curriculum titled Burn Nursing: From Injury Prevention to Rehabilitation, which will be one of the primary resources for the creation of exam content.
Summer 2021
BCEN enters into a partnership with ABA to develop a burn nursing specialty certification program. BCEN will solely own the certification program and maintain the exam.
September 2020
Burn Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice publishes. Created by a diverse committee of experienced burn nurses, this reference provides the official scope and standards of practice for burn nursing and was critical to burn nursing being recognized as a nursing specialty.
August 2020
The American Nurses Association formally recognizes burn nursing as a nursing specialty, approves the scope of practice, and acknowledges the standards of practice.
BCEN is committed to supporting nurses delivering specialty care across the emergency spectrum and beyond, advancing nursing practice and excellence, and promoting optimal patient outcomes with the highest quality, most respected credentials.
Please direct any questions or inquiries about the burn nursing RDS and burn certification program to BCEN Director of Certification and Accreditation Amy Grand, MSN, RN, at agrand@bcen.org. Media inquiries should be directed to BCEN Director of Marketing & Communications Hilde Marnul at hmarnul@bcen.org
