Nursing credentials and certifications

A nurse's postnominal (listed after the name) credentials usually follow his or her name in this order:

Generally credentials are listed from most to least permanent. A degree, once earned, cannot, in normal circumstances, be taken away. State licensure is only revoked for serious professional misconduct. Certifications generally must be periodically renewed by examination or the completion of a prescribed number of continuing education units (CEUs).

Nurses may also hold non-nursing credentials including academic degrees. These are usually omitted unless they are related to the nurse's job. For instance, a staff nurse would likely not list an MBA, but a nurse manager might choose to do so.

Some nurses who achieve a master's degree (MSN) leave the patient care aspect of nursing, and practice in a more administrative role. An example would be earning an MSN in health care risk management. Such a nurse, while still fully an accredited nurse, will likely become the risk manager for a hospital, and perhaps even the director or manager of the risk management department. In this role, she may never see another patient except while doing hospital inspections, or perhaps talking to a patient or the patient's family about a quality of care concern. In this role, the nurse becomes something similar to an auditor and a teacher of patient care quality and risk for the entire hospital staff. This nurse likely will also get the certification listed below: CPHQ: Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality.

Nursing credentials are separated from the person's name (and from each other) with commas. There are usually no periods within the credentials (e.g. "BSN" not "B.S.N.").

Nursing certifications

In the United States and Canada, many nurses who choose a specialty become certified in that area, signifying that they possess expert knowledge. There are over 200 nursing specialties and subspecialties. Studies from the Institute of Medicine have demonstrated that specialty-certified nurses have higher rates of patient satisfaction, as well as lower rates of work-related errors in patient care.

Registered nurses (RNs) are not required to be certified in a certain specialty by law. For example, it is not necessary to be a certified medical-surgical registered nurse (CMSRN) (a medical surgical nursing certification) to work on a medical-surgical (med-surg) floor, and most med-surg nurses are not CMSRNs. Certifications do, however, instill professionalism and make the nurse more attractive to prospective and current employers. Certified nurses may earn a salary differential over their non-certified colleagues but this is rare.

Some hospitals and other health care facilities are willing to pay a certified nurse extra when he or she works within their specialty. Also, some hospitals may require certain nurses, such as nursing supervisors or lead nurses, be certified. Certification instills confidence in the nurses. Magnet hospitals advocate certifications.

Contents 

Alphabetical listing of nursing and related credentials and certifications

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

W

References

  1. ↑ http://www.aamcn.org
  2. ↑ "Board of Nursing Frequently Asked Questions". Virginia Board of Nursing. Retrieved 14 November 2011.