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Best intensive care unit nurse certifications
The best certifications for an intensive care unit nurse are Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS), Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC), and Adult, Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care Nurses (CCRN).
Intensive care unit nurse certifications demonstrate your competency as an intensive care unit nurse to employers. However, not all intensive care unit nurse certifications provide the same value.
Below is a list of the best intensive care unit nurse certifications. Obtaining an intensive care unit nurse certification will give you a leg up when you apply for jobs and increase your potential salary.
11 best certifications for intensive care unit nurses
| Rank | Intensive care unit nurse certification | Organization |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS) | American Red ... |
| 2 | Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) | ENA |
| 3 | Adult, Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care Nurses (CCRN) | AACN |
| 4 | Basic Life Support (BLS) | AHA |
| 5 | Family Nurse Practitioner | ANA |
| 6 | Legal Nurse Consultant Certified (LNCC) | AALNC |
| 7 | Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing (RNC-NIC) | NCC |
| 8 | Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) | NLN |
| 9 | Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) | AACN |
| 10 | Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) | American Red ... |
| 11 | Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN) | ONCC |
11 best intensive care unit nurse certifications
1. Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS)
Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers (BLS) uses a scenario-based approach to develop the critical thinking and problem solving skills that drive better patient outcomes. Consistent with AHA Guidelines for CPR/ECC. Covers breathing and cardiac emergencies - including CPR, AED, and obstructed airway - for adult, child, and infant patients. Free, two-year digital "Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers" certificate upon course completion..
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? No
- More than two years of work experience required? No
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required?
2. Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC)
Every second counts when stabilizing life-threatening trauma cases. This course, taught by qualified emergency nurses, prepares you with the knowledge, critical thinking skills and hands-on training needed to provide high-quality, trauma nursing care. After completing this course, you will be able to properly assess and implement evidence-based interventions to improve outcomes for your patients.
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? No
- More than two years of work experience required? No
- Oral or written exam required? No
- Renewal required? Every 4 year(s)
3. Adult, Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care Nurses (CCRN)
CCRN specialty certification was introduced in 1976 for nurses providing care to acutely and/or critically ill adult, pediatric and neonatal patients. Nurses interested in this certification may work in specialty areas such as intensive care units, cardiac care units, combined ICU/CCUs, medical/surgical ICUs, trauma units or critical care transport/flight.
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? Yes
- More than two years of work experience required? Yes
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 3 year(s)
4. Basic Life Support (BLS)
The Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers Classroom Course is designed to provide a wide variety of healthcare professionals the ability to recognize several life-threatening emergencies, provide CPR, use an AED, and relieve choking in a safe, timely and effective manner.
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? No
- More than two years of work experience required? No
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 2 year(s)
5. Family Nurse Practitioner
The ANCC Family Nurse Practitioner board certification examination is a competency based examination that provides a valid and reliable assessment of the entry-level clinical knowledge and skills of nurse practitioners. This certification aligns with the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification and Education. Once you complete eligibility requirements to take the certification examination and successfully pass the exam, you are awarded the credential: Family Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (FNP-BC).
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? Yes
- More than two years of work experience required? Yes
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 5 year(s)
6. Legal Nurse Consultant Certified (LNCC)
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? Yes
- More than two years of work experience required? Yes
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 5 year(s)
7. Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing (RNC-NIC)
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? Yes
- More than two years of work experience required? Yes
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 3 year(s)
8. Certified Nurse Educator (CNE)
Certification in any field is a mark of professionalism. For academic nurse educators, it establishes nursing education as a specialty area of practice and creates a means for faculty to demonstrate their expertise in this role. It communicates to students, peers, and the academic and health care communities that the highest standards of excellence are being met. By becoming credentialed as a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE), you serve as a leader and a role model.
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? Yes
- More than two years of work experience required? Yes
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 2 year(s)
9. Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN)
Registered nurses working with critically ill patients.
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? Yes
- More than two years of work experience required? Yes
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 3 year(s)
10. Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA)
Train to be a certified nurse assistant working with other health care professionals to provide quality care for elderly or sick individuals in nursing homes and hospitals and at home.
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? No
- More than two years of work experience required? No
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required?
11. Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN)
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? Yes
- More than two years of work experience required? Yes
- Oral or written exam required? Yes
- Renewal required? Every 4 year(s)
What is the best certification for an intensive care unit nurse?
The best intensive care unit nurse certification is Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS). The Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS) is awarded by the American Red Cross. A skill certification tests for basic skills and may or may not be related to a product.
Here's a bit more background on how to obtain this intensive care unit nurse certification:
- To become a certified Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS), you need to pass the exam.
- Lucky you - certification doesn't require more than two years of work experience.
- Renew certification every year.
What are some of the most in-demand certifications for intensive care unit nurses?
The most in-demand intensive care unit nurse certification is Trauma Nursing Core Course based on all active job postings. Having this intensive care unit nurse certification will give you access to more intensive care unit nurse jobs with higher salaries.
What certifications can impact an intensive care unit nurse career and salary?
The Family Nurse Practitioner certification will help you to secure an nurse practitioner position, which will increase your pay and career trajectory. An nurse practitioner's average salary is $94,386 whereas intensive care unit nurses make an average salary of $79,483.
The most common combination of intensive care unit nurse certifications include: Basic Life Support for Healthcare and Public Safety (BLS), Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC), and Adult, Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care Nurses (CCRN).
Online courses for intensive care unit nurses to earn certifications
1. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children
Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...
2. Trauma Emergencies and Care
Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...
3. Home Health Aide, Nurse Aide, Caregiver Certification Course
Become A Certified Home Health Aide, Personal Care Aide, Nurse Aide/ Caregiver At The End Of This Course. Enroll Now!!...
4. Coping Skills and Self-Care for Mental Health
Essential skills to manage intense emotions and develop a self-care practice to promote mental health...
5. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course
The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...
6. Introduction to Integrative Nursing
This course is designed for nurses who are drawn to practice in a different way – nurses who value whole-person care and know that the essence of nursing practice is truly caring and healing. You will learn about the principles and practices of Integrative Nursing and how you can be a healing presence to all you serve. Then, you will do an integrative assessment and apply the principles of Integrative Nursing to improve symptom management and overall patient outcomes. Finally, you will explore...
7. Providing Trauma-Informed Care
Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...
8. Self-Care Life Coach Certification (Boundary Setting)
Empower Your Life Coach Your Clients to Develop Self-Care, Self-Love, Boundary Setting and How to Say No...
9. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
10. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative
Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...
11. Health Care IT: Challenges and Opportunities
A strong argument can be made that the health care field is one of the most information-intensive sectors in the U.S. economy and avoidance of the rapid advances in information technology is no longer an option. Consequently, the study of health care information technology and systems has become central to health care delivery effectiveness. This course covers the modern application of information technology that is critical to supporting the vision and operational knowledge of the health care...
12. Pain Management: Easing Pain in Palliative Care
In this course, you will be able to develop a systems view for assessing and managing pain in the palliative care setting. By the end of the course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the pain problem in the palliative care setting; 2) Assess a person’s pain, 3) Explain the benefits of integrative therapies and pharmacologic strategies to manage pain...
13. Health for All Through Primary Health Care
This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context...
14. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...
15. Thinking About Care
Although all humans require care to develop and thrive, it is rarely the focus of academic studies. This course enriches learner’s understanding of this critical yet underappreciated facet of their lives by addressing such questions as: What is care? Who has traditionally provided it? How valued is care work? Does money take the care out of care work? In addition to advancing learner’s knowledge of the place of care in modern society and controversies surrounding it, Thinking About Care will...
16. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
17. Health Care Delivery in Healthcare Organizations
Have you ever needed health care and thought that there must be better ways to get or deliver health care? For example, have you found yourself thinking that there should be a way to get a diagnostic test or treatment at home? Or do you work in a healthcare organization and find yourself thinking that there must be better ways to deliver health care? If you have, this course is for you. Course content includes an overview of health care delivery including healthcare consumerism, the patient's...
18. The Critical Role of IT Support Staff in Healthcare
This is a very exciting time to be exploring a career in Health IT Support! In this introductory course, you’ll learn about various roles in IT support that are common in healthcare. IT support staff play critical roles in many different healthcare venues. In addition to helping clinics, hospitals, and emergency rooms, you may end up providing support in a skilled nursing facility, ambulatory surgical center, virtual care setting, or even a patient’s home! On any given day, you may interact...
19. COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers
COVID-19 is rapidly spreading across the globe and all providers must be prepared to recognize, stabilize and treat patients with novel coronavirus infection. Following completion of this short course physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals will have a unified, evidenced-based approach to saving the lives of patients with COVID-19, including those who are critically ill. Learning modules are broken into short videos presented in a richly illustrated and compelling manner. The...
20. Addiction Treatment: Clinical Skills for Healthcare Providers
This course is designed with a singular goal: to improve the care you provide to your patients with substance use disorders. By delving into a model case performed by actors, seven Yale instructors from various fields provide techniques to screen your patients for substance use disorder risk, diagnose patients to gauge the severity of their use, directly manage treatment plans, refer out to treatment services, and navigate the various conditions that may limit your patient’s access to treatment...