Becoming certified: That was easy! (And we can help with costs)
AAMC offers nursing staff the benefit of participating in the Success Pays and Take 2 Program, in which the hospital covers the fees required for nurses to take a certification exam up to two times within a 12 month period. Currently, 94 AAMC nurses are benefiting from these opportunities! For more information, contact Ann Marie Holland at aholland2@aahs.org.
Do you want to become certified? Start planning now to enroll in this program which will renew in July. Find out if your specially falls under ANCC’s Success Pays program here. The Competency and Credentialing Institute’s (CCI) Take 2 Program covers the CNOR certification only.
Christine Frost, Clinical Director for MSU/SCU, is very proud of her team. Over the last few months, five nurses on MSU have taken and passed the MedSurg certification and six more signed up to take it. “The nurses are sharing resources, studying online, taking practice tests and reading the review books,” she says. “It has been a tremendous pleasure to see the staff and previously-certified nurses encourage one another to take this important step.”
Here is what some of our MSU nurses had to say about why they became certified and what it means to them:
“I wanted to obtain my certification to validate my expert knowledge and skills as a medical-surgical nurse. Obtaining my certification provides my patients and their families with substantiation that I have demonstrated experience, knowledge and skills in medical-surgical nursing. I am able to make clinical decisions with confidence knowing that my skills have been authenticated. I am proud to be a certified medical surgical nurse.” -Jennifer Dupre, MSN, RN-BC
“It has been a goal of mine since the beginning of my career as a new graduate on the Medical Surgical floor to grow as much as possible in my profession. I told my grandmother when I first started that I wanted to collect as many letters next to my name as possible. A great group of my coworkers all decided to pursue their certifications together and I am glad that we did! I am also in school to obtain my Bachelors — so that will be my next big achievement.” -Malorie Smith, RN-BC
“The three reasons why I decided to get certified are: (1) Definitely because they offered to us for free. I may not have inquired otherwise. (2) It shows that I have a strong grasp, knowledge and competency of what we do here on our unit. (3) It is a great accomplishment to add to my title and resume” -Octavia Yancey, RN-BC
MSU nurses aren’t the only ones taking advantage of this great resource. Here’s another viewpoint, this time from an askAAMC nurse who has been employed at AAMC for 15 years.
“I began preparing for the Ambulatory Care Nursing Certification Exam in April, but put off sending in my application due to the $390 fee required. It wasn’t exactly a financial hardship, but I always had (or found) a more pressing (or pleasing) place to put that kind of money. In June I found out about the Success Pays Program through the Clinical Education Department. I submitted my application, was deemed eligible by the ANCC and took the exam on August 29. I passed. Hooray! (It was really hard.) I am now Board Certified in Ambulatory Care Nursing, and I’m not sure when I would have achieved this if not for AAMC’s commitment to encouraging, and financially facilitating, the education and advancement of its nurses. This is another reason, among the many, that I am so proud to be a part of this hospital. I thank you. -Carol Chell, BSN, RN-BC
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