From MedScape:
Over the last two years, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) has updated all its certification credentials for both specialty and advanced practice exams. There were various reasons for changing each of these, but the collective result is a complete updating of ANCC credentials.
Specialty Certifications
In October 2006, the basic specialty exam credentials were changed to RN-BC (Registered Nurse - Board Certified); this reflected and emphasized the fact that board certification is what ANCC does, and all ANCC-certified nurses are board certified. The RN-BC replaced previously used RN,C and RN,BC credentials.
Advanced Practice Certifications
In January 2008, ANCC introduced new advanced practice credentials for nurse practitioner (NP) and clinical nurse specialist (CNS) certifications, after review and deliberation with nurses and other stakeholders that began in 2005. The previous credential APRN,BC (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, Board Certified) was retired and the NP and CNS certifications are now each recognized with a credential that reflects both the specialty and the role. (See table below for the correct, new, credentials.)
The process used to choose the new credentials involved extensive surveys of and consultations with certified nurses and related stakeholders, such as the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS), American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA), American College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP), National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and other national certification bodies. One of the key reasons for changing the advanced practice credentials was the fact that the credential 'APRN' is a protected title in a number of states, as well as under National Council State Board of Nursing's (NCSBN) APRN Compact. To accommodate the progress that the Compact represents, and to avoid any conflict, the ANCC Commission on Certification determined that a change was in order. The outcome was this year's change in credentials.
Nursing Administration Certifications
The ANCC Nursing Administration and Nursing Administration, Advanced certification names, and related credentials, were updated effective April 24, 2008. These certifications were first offered in 1979; much has changed in the last three decades, including terminology and the role of nurses in senior healthcare management. The new names for the certifications, Nurse Executive and Nurse Executive, Advanced, and the related credentials, Nurse Executive - Board Certified (NE-BC) and Nurse Executive, Advanced - Board Certified (NEA-BC) were introduced to bring them into line with contemporary healthcare terminology and culture. The term "Nurse Executive" does not refer to a job title or position, but to the body of knowledge suitable for an executive decision maker. The Nurse Executive and Nurse Executive, Advanced certifications are suitable for a wide range of nursing roles, including all types of supervisors, managers, consultants, chief nursing officers, faculty, deans, and leaders.
Public Health Nurse, Advanced
The most recent change was to the name and credentials awarded for the certification for Clinical Nurse Specialist in Public/Community Health Nursing. For some time, the majority of graduate education programs offering public and community health nursing education have not met the criteria for clinical nurse specialist programs.
Consequently, at its March 2008 meeting, the ANCC Commission on Certification decided to correct the name and credential. The new certification name will be Public Health Nursing, Advanced. Anyone who takes and passes the the Public Health Nursing, Advanced exam after May 17, 2008 will use the credential APHN-BC (Advanced Public Health Nurse - Board Certified). This change only affects those taking the exam after May 17, 2008. Nurses who have passed the exam on or prior to May 17, 2008 will continue to use the credential PHCNS-BC (Public Health Clinical Nurse Specialist - Board Certified), provided they maintain their certification through renewal every five years.
While this is an 'advanced' credential, it is not 'advanced practice.' The positive side of this name change is that eligibility requirements will be changed and it is likely that the new requirements will be more in line with national public health graduate nursing programs, enabling more nurses to qualify for the certification. The eligibility requirements will be updated over the next months.
For further details on these issues, please check the ANCC website regularly.
Thought this was worth sharing.
Also: Certification - American Nurses Credentialing Center - ANCC
Clinical Nurse Specialists
Links to help you out.
- Adult Health CNS
- Adult Psychiatric & Mental Health CNS
- Child\Adolescent Psych & Mental Health CNS
- CNS Core Exam
- Diabetes Management - Advanced
- Gerontological CNS
- Home Health CNS
- Pediatric CNS
- Public/Community Health CNS
Here are some links for ANCC through the Medscape site. http://www.medscape.com/partners/ancc/public/ancc
These should be useful, also. Of course, it does help if you join the site!
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