3 Reasons to Encourage Your Nurses to Pursue a Nursing Certification

September 15 2020 - Once you step into the nursing field, you learn to find a craft that is most suitable for you and one you enjoy. Nursing is broad, and you can work in a variety of departments such as med/surg, pediatrics, oncology, or ER. You can choose to work in the hospital, in a clinic, or provide home health.

You can even work "hands-off" when you specialize in research and case studies. Nursing certifications are a great opportunity for nurses no matter which area they work in.

The average nurse (RN) makes about $73,000 a year, and nurses can boost more than their income when they get certified. Take a look at these reasons to find out why you should recommend your nurses to get certifications on top of their degree.

1. Enhanced Patient Care

When a nurse is certified, it reflects competence. It allows them to provide the best possible care for their patients. Nurses are able to apply the added knowledge they learn and use it in real-life scenarios as they work.

Nurses gain better insight which also increases overall patient safety. The main benefit of getting certified is that nurses can get nursing certifications online. Learn POCUS (point-of-care- ultrasound) allows nurses to provide top-notch healthcare.

It does this through workshops, online courses, conferences, simulation training, or hands-on training. After all, everyone learns differently. After all, everyone learns differently.

Certifications are one of the many ways nurses can improve patient care at the hospital in a cost-effective way.

There is also a lot of evidence linked to this. One study found higher rates of CPAN and CRNFA/CNOR certifications in hospitals that have perioperative units. Those hospitals had lower rates of central-line associated bloodstream infections within the intensive unit.

Another study found nurses who had both a BSN degree and certification and worked in the surgical unit had lower patient mortality rates. Even if it is a little bit of extra knowledge, certifications make a difference in reducing infection and increasing patient rescue rates.

2. Allows Nurses to Expand Job Opportunities

New nurses often feel overwhelmed about what they should do when they first enter the job field. Oftentimes, having the minimum certifications (like a CPR/ACLS certification) along with your license is all you need to find work. When you want to stand out and get more opportunities, you can improve your resume by adding certifications.

Specialized certifications are something only nurses with some level of experience can get. For example, if a nurse works in the med/surg department and wants to transfer to the ER because they enjoy the fast-paced environment, getting a trauma nurse certification is an excellent choice.

Specialized certifications often require nurses to have 1-2 years of experience before applying. In order to maintain your certifications, you will need to renew them too.

Hospitals with a pediatrics department can suggest the RNC-NIC certification for nurses who work in NICU. They may advise wound care nurse certifications to nurses who work in the intensive unit.

These certifications will provide wonderful opportunities for nurses who want to further their education or climb up higher on the ladder. Certified nurses are able to work in a variety of settings and have success in working in advanced positions. For example, certified nurses should apply and have better chances of landing a job as an FNP, ACON, AGNP, NNP, FNP, and more.

Although a nurse can enter any of these fields without certification, it can be tough for those who want to move to a different hospital.

3. Adds to Professionalism and Clinical Competence

When a nurse gets a certification in any area of specialty, it shows that they are committed to providing excellence. It demonstrates  they take the field they are working in seriously. While getting a degree offers nurses the knowledge they need, certifications can help fill in the gaps.

When you get a degree, you often spend time learning other subjects, so nurses must study in a way they can retain the variety of knowledge in order to be well-rounded. When you get a certificate, you can spend time focusing on one area, which helps improve clinical competence.

Hospitals should encourage their workers to get a certification where they work because nurses who have them feel better about the work they put.

Certifications aid in professionalism in the sense they allow nurses to feel more able when it comes to completing tasks on their own. While teamwork and working together is important in healthcare, having competent nurses who can think critically on their own is also important.

Certifications help promote time-management within the hospital because nurses are able to complete their own assignments without spending extra time to figure something out.

Nursing Certifications for Enhanced Knowledge and Confidence

When you look at the face-value certifications offer, it's priceless. Nurses do better in the jobs they work in, and the patients they care for. Whether a nurse wants to get certified to gain something like a new job or improve their knowledge and patient care, nursing certifications do help.

Nurses who enjoy their job want to do better in any way they can. Nurses are driven by value. Hospitals can help nurses achieve this by informing them about certifications.

There are nurses who are not aware they can get them in the first place. Giving this information can increase the number of nurses who get certified in their specialty.

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