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The Complete Guide to Common Nursing Certifications

What is nursing certification?

Nursing certification means becoming certified in a special field of nursing. By obtaining a nursing certification, you can tell potential employers about your area of expertise in nursing. Additionally, nursing certification shows how knowledgeable and experienced you are in your felid of nursing. In this blog, we will discuss the types of nursing certifications and the role of nurses.

Why is nursing certification important?

It is important to get your nursing certification because it shows your education, knowledge, and skills in a certain field of nursing. Some certifications are achieved through proper examination, while you can get some certifications through testing. You can only work as a nurse when you are a certified nurse. This indicates that you have taken the exams and proper training related to your field and can meet your job’s needs.

List of nursing certifications

Here, we will discuss the list of common nursing certifications and the role of nurses across various nursing specialties.

General nursing certifications:

Here is the complete list of general nursing certifications.

Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA):

Duty: Certified Nursing Assistants take care of patient’s basic needs such as bathing, feeding, dressing, etc. They work under the supervision of nursing staff.

Certification requirements: CNAs are required to take a minimum of 75 hours of training to learn how to take care of the patient’s basic needs. They must pass both written and clinical certification exams. This proves that they have the knowledge and skills to work as CNAs at hospitals or nursing homes.

Working place: CNAs can work in hospice care, nursing homes, assisted living, retired communities, etc.

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN):

Duty: LPNs monitor patients by checking their vital signs, administering medications, inserting catheters, and much more.

Certification requirements: This nurse certification requires a high school diploma or GED, and then, a graduate from any LPN program and passing the NCLEX-PN exam to become a licensed practical nurse. It takes 12 to 14 months to become LPN.

Working place: LPNs can work at hospitals, physician’s offices, clinics, schools, and home healthcare services, etc.

Registered nurse (RN)

Duty: RNs monitor patients, administer medication, create care plans, collect healthcare histories, and counsel and educate patients and their families.

RN Certification requirements: To become an RN, you must get a nursing degree, such as a BSN or AND. After that, pass the NCLEX-RN exam and get the state license or compact license. It typically takes 3 to 5 years to become an RN.

Working place: RNs can work in hospitals, schools, nursing care facilities, outpatient clinics, and more.

Advanced Nursing Certifications

Now, we will discuss the advanced nursing credential list for nurses. The list includes:

Certified Nurse Practitioner (NP)

Duty: NPs can diagnose and treat patients, prescribe medications, perform physical examinations, collect biological samples from patients, and much more.

Certification requirements: To be a certified nurse practitioner, you must earn a BSN degree and MSN or DNP. Pass the NCLEX-RN exam. Once you have earned your MSN you have to apply for an APRN license. After that, pass a national certification exam recognized by your state. NPs need a few years of experience to work in a clinical setting.

Working place: NPs can work in different medical settings such as mental healthcare facilities, pediatric healthcare settings, hospice care, hospitals, clinics, and more.

Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM)

Duty: CNM helps and guides the women throughout their pregnancy. They confirm, gather medical results, perform physical exams, and monitor the mother and fetus during pregnancy.

Certification requirements: This certification for nurses requires a graduate degree, an active RN license, and the passing of the CNM exam.

Workplace: CNMs can be found at birth centers, hospitals, clinics, and homes.

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA)

Duty: The role of CRNAs is to make the surgical process pain-free by administering and maintaining anesthesia during operations.

Certification requirements: This nursing certification requirements include a BSN degree, RN license, and one to three years of ICU experience. A graduate degree like MSN or DNP in nurse anesthesia, CRNA certification, and state license.

Workplace: CRNAs can work at outpatient centers, ambulatory surgical centers, hospitals, ophthalmologist offices, and more.

Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)

Duty: CNS are advanced practice registered nurses who provide quality and cost-effective care to the patients. They diagnose and treat chronic or acute illnesses.

Certification requirements: Nursing certification requires an RN license, experience, scoring well on the GRE, and completing a minimum of 500 hours of supervised clinical.

Workplace: They work in emergency rooms, critical care units, pediatrics, and neonates.

Specialty Nursing Certifications

Here is the specialty nursing certification list:

Critical Care Nurse (CCRN):

They provide care to patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries. It takes about 5 to 6 years of education and training to be a CCRN.

Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN):

CPN provides initial care to children. They assess their needs, identify the changes in symptoms, and help in pain management of the children. A minimum of 1-2 years of pediatric nursing experience is required for this certification.

Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN):

Certified emergency nurses give emergency care to patients. It takes 2 to 4 years to become a certified CEN nurse.

Certified Oncology Nurse (OCN):

Nurses with this certification take care of patients with cancer. If you are already an RN, it will take two years to become an OCN.

Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN):

This nursing certification helps nurses perform surgical-related tasks. It takes a minimum of 2 years and two thousand clinical hours to become a certified medical-surgical registered nurse.

Certified Neonatal Nurse (RNC-NIC):

Nurses with this certification provide care to the neonates. To be an RNC-NIC nurse, it will take between 2-6 years.

Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN):

This nursing certificate allows nurses to provide care to patients at the end of their lives. You need to have five thousand hours in one year or two thousand hours in 2 years of practice before applying for exams.

Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN):

Nurses with this certification allow the nurses to give care to patients with chronic illnesses. It will take at least 2 years to become CRRN.

Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE):

This RN certification allows nurses to provide care to diabetic patients. At least one thousand hours of DCE within 5 years before you apply.

Certified Wound Care Nurse (CWCN):

This RN certification indicates that nurses are specialized in the prevention and treatment of acute or chronic wounds. To be a CWCN, it will take 6 years.

Certified Obstetric Nurse (RNC-OB):

These RN-certified nurse’s take care of pregnant women and their newborn babies. The eligibility requirements are 24 months of specialty experience in the US.

Advanced Certifications:

The nurse certification list also includes advanced certification for nurses, which are as follows.

Nurse Leadership and Educational Certifications

Here is the nursing certification in nursing leadership and educational certifications.

Public Health Community Nursing Certification

The list of nursing certifications for public health and community nursing includes the following:

Conclusion

Nursing certifications not only help to validate nurse’s knowledge and skills in their specialized fields but also help them to advance their careers. These certifications help them in their personal and professional growth. In this blog we have discussed about the different nursing certifications, from general certifications to advanced certifications and so on.