Why does nursing specialty certification matter?
National specialty certification, also called board certification, is the highest professional credential a nurse can earn.
In order to become a registered nurse, an individual has to sit for a licensing exam, which is designed to determine whether it’s safe for them to begin practice as an entry-level RN.
When an RN becomes interested in a particular specialty, such as adult or pediatric emergency nursing or trauma nursing or flight nursing, they can become board certified in their specialty, similar to what physicians do. To earn a specialty credential, RNs must pass a national specialty certification exam.
While the purpose of specialty certification is to independently validate specialty knowledge, skills and abilities, which provides important information to patients, families and employers … nurses earn specialty credentials for many reasons, including the sense of accomplishment and pride that comes with being among the best of the best in their specialty.
Research links specialty certification with improved patient outcomes … and certification also benefits nurses and their careers, healthcare teams, hospitals and other providers, and entire communities.
What is Certified Nurses Day?
Certified Nurses Day™ is celebrated worldwide every March 19, the birthday of Dr. Margretta “Gretta” Madden Styles, RN, EdD, FAAN. Gretta was one of the earliest and greatest champions of nursing certification. Her vision, leadership, research and advocacy helped form and influence certification throughout the U.S. and around the globe.
Certified Nurses Day is a day for organizations, communities and leaders to honor and recognize the clinical excellence, professionalism and service of nurses whose dedication to their specialty advances nursing and patient care every day.
This international nursing celebration day was created in 2008 by the American Nurses Association and the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Show your certified pride on Certified Nurses Day and every day!
Celebrate Certified Nurses Day with a free, downloadable “You RN-credible” note card, new “Nurses RN-credible” t-shirt and sticker sheet.
A Special Message for Consumers, Patients & Families
“When you receive care from a nationally certified emergency, trauma, transport or burn nurse, you know you’re being treated by the best of the best.
Board certified RNs voluntarily go above and beyond their nursing license requirements to master advanced knowledge across their specialty, much like physicians do. They take a rigorous exam to prove it. And they commit to staying on top of the very latest advances and best practices.
That’s the kind of nursing care we all want and deserve. And that is definitely worth celebrating!”
BCEN CEO Janie Schumaker, a former ER nurse, has been a Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) since 1996. There are more than 40,000 CENs worldwide.
How to Celebrate Certified Nurses Day
Looking for Certified Nurses Day celebration ideas? Here are just a few ways to say “thank you” to the BCEN-certified nurses in your life.
Prepare for Certified Success
Take BCEN’s CEN Review Course: Essentials of Emergency Nursing and CEN Practice Exam to study and prepare for your CEN exam!
Send a Personal Thank You
Printable Note Card & Certificate
Give a Certified Nurses Day Gift
Nurses RN-Credible T-Shirt, Sticker Sheet & More BCEN Merch
Proud to be Certified!
Here’s what RNs specializing in emergency, pediatric emergency, trauma, flight and critical care ground transport had to say about why specialty certification matters.
“Any specialty certification, by definition, improves patient care. It means you’re an expert who has demonstrated competency and knowledge in your field,” said Jessica Evins, BSN, RN, CPEN, a Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN) with NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Department in New York City. “While pediatric patients make up a small percentage of the overall Emergency Department population, people underestimate the unique challenges of taking care of kids. Having pediatric emergency specialty knowledge is critical, and being a CPEN is the best way to show families that you are as equipped as possible to care for their kids.”
Nick Jazdzewski BSN, RN, CEN, with Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said: “Quite simply, being a Certified Emergency Nurse makes me a better nurse, and it raises the performance of the team around me. The heightened knowledge I’ve obtained through specialty certification allows me to quickly anticipate changes in patients’ conditions, which means I can intervene sooner, and that gives patients the best chance for positive outcomes.”
Lindsay Schoem, BSN, RN, TCRN, a Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN) with Inova Loudoun Hospital in Leesburg, Virginia, described a thank you letter she received from a trauma patient who had learned what the letters T-C-R-N on her name badge meant: “The patient wrote: ‘I just felt so much more comfortable knowing your expertise was in trauma. I just knew I was going to receive the best care.’”
Education Coordinator and Flight Nurse Caroline Levin, BSN, RN, CEN, CCRN, CFRN, PHRN, a Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN) with STAT MedEvac in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said: “In the dynamic outside-the-hospital environment, being certified in transport nursing means we bring an expertise to patient care that offers an advanced knowledge-informed perspective on diagnosis and treatment to support our patients’ best possible outcomes.”
Celebrating Certified Nurses
“I put off getting a certification for years. Maybe it was because I was tired after getting two bachelor’s and finishing my ER residency. Then it was I had a couple kids and didn’t feel like studying. But I am so glad I finally did it a few years ago!” wrote Amy Somers, RN, BSN, TCRN, an ER/Trauma Nurse with Texas Health Dallas. “I love explaining what the TCRN stands for on my jacket… I am proud of my certification! It’s never too late to get certified!”
“Happy Certified Nurses Day to all the nurses who raised the bar on nursing specialty credentials by becoming board certified,” said Austin Johnson, BSN, RN, EMT-P, CTRN, a Critical Care Transport Nurse with AdventHealth EMS in Orlando, Florida. “I’m proud of my board certification because it helps me and my patients feel more confident in what I do as a nurse.”
Credentials matter! WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital ED recognizes certified nurses Pat Bria BA, BS, BSN, RN, CEN and Jerry Brenner MSN, RN, CEN, CFRN with special Certified Nurses Day t-shirts.
“Grateful to be acknowledged for having certifications,” Roger Casey, MSN, RN, CEN, TCRN shares Certified Nurses Day decorations recognizing his department’s specialty certified nurses.
“Happy Certified Nurses Day to all the nurses out there who went the extra lengths in their careers to get certified,” said flight nurse Stephanie Suzadail, MSN, MA, RN, PHRN, CEN, CFRN, CPEN, CTRN, TCRN, with Geisinger Life Flight in Danville, Pennsylvania. “Certification shows the world you have not only the knowledge and competency in your specialty, but also a passion for it.”
