BCEN EDvantage Gives Nursing Students, Recent Grads and RNs a Head Start on Being an ED Nurse
OAK BROOK, IL (May 20, 2020) – The Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN), the benchmark for board certification across the emergency nursing spectrum, has launched BCEN EDvantage, a new, first-of-its-kind emergency nursing certificate program designed to give final-year nursing students, recent grads and RNs aspiring to work in the emergency department (ED) a hiring and training advantage. Getting hired as an emergency nurse is typically highly competitive because of the challenging nature of the job as well as the high interest in the emergency specialty.
View the BCEN EDvantage video
“BCEN’s goal in developing this career preparedness certificate is to contribute to a stronger emergency nursing workforce right now and for the future,” said BCEN Executive Director Janie Schumaker, MBA, BSN, RN, CEN, CENP, CPHQ, FABC. “Research, including the BCEN-initiated 2019 emergency nursing workforce study, makes it clear that immediate action is needed to ensure the U.S. healthcare system has an adequate pipeline of nurses who are as prepared as possible to step into the rigors and challenges of working in the ED — and the coronavirus pandemic has now raised those stakes even higher.”
“While BCEN EDvantage does not replace the training, mentoring and experience a new ED nurse will receive once hired, it does build foundational emergency nursing knowledge, gets nurses thinking about their role in an ED and how EDs function, and sets them up for the kind of lifelong learning that emergency nursing demands,” said BCEN’s Schumaker, who is a former ED director and chief nursing officer (CNO).
More specifically, BCEN EDvantage helps final-year nursing students, recent grads and RNs seeking to be hired in an ED acquire basic knowledge and skills related to core clinical, triage, and non-emergency and emergency incident preparedness by completing the following courses:
- American Heart Association CPR course for healthcare providers,
- Stop the Bleed,
- ENA’s Emergency Severity Index Adult/Pediatric Course,
- NIH Stroke Scale Training, and
- FEMA’s Introduction to the Incident Command System and Introduction to the National Incident Management System courses.
The certificate program also helps aspiring ED nurses:
- Develop ED-specific clinical and professional awareness.
- Understand the roles emergency nurses and EDs play in communities.
- Actively engage in their profession.
- Explore the benefits of setting a career goal to be a board certified emergency nurse.
Backed by 40 years of experience offering rigorous, well-respected emergency nursing specialty certification programs, BCEN will confer a BCEN EDvantage digital badge, professional portfolio, and completion certificate to individuals who successfully meet the program requirements.
To be eligible to earn the BCEN EDvantage certificate, an individual must be within 12 months of graduating from an accredited nursing diploma, ADN or BSN program or be a recent graduate, and/or hold a current, unrestricted U.S. RN license or international equivalent. There is a $50 program fee and candidates must complete all requirements within 12 months of applying to the program. Complete details are available at https://bcen.org/EDvantage
About BCEN
Throughout 2020, the independent, not-for-profit Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN®) is celebrating 40 years of robust certification programs fostering empowered nurses across the emergency spectrum who contribute noticeably to patient care, safety and outcomes. Over 55,000 BCEN board certifications are currently held by registered nurses (RNs) who specialize in emergency, flight, critical care ground transport, pediatric emergency and trauma nursing. BCEN offers the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN®), Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN®), Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN®), Certified Transport Registered Nurse (CTRN®) and Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN®) certifications. The CEN, CFRN, CPEN, and TCRN certification programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC). Learn more at bcen.org. Follow BCEN on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
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