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Best Registered Nurse certifications
The best certifications for a registered nurse are Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA), Basic Life Support (BLS), and Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC).
Registered nurse certifications demonstrate your competency as a registered nurse to employers. However, not all registered nurse certifications provide the same value.
Below is a list of the best registered nurse certifications. Obtaining a registered nurse certification will give you a leg up when you apply for jobs and increase your potential salary.
According to Clare Chambers, Assistant Professor of Nursing at Mars Hill University, "Skills that typically stand out on RN resumes include special certifications such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) or Acute/Critical Care Nursing (CCRN). Managers also tend to pay attention to applicants who have volunteer experience or are members of nursing organizations within their educational programs or nationally. Other useful skills include any previous electronic medical record experience or working at the bedside previously as a certified nurse assistant if the nurse is newly licensed."20 best certifications for registered nurses
20 best registered nurse certifications
1. 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?
2. 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)
3. 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)
4. 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)
5. 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)
6. Medical-Surgical Nursing (RN-BC)
The ANCC Medical-Surgical Nursing board certification examination is a competency based examination that provides a valid and reliable assessment of the entry-level clinical knowledge and skills of registered nurses in the medical-surgical specialty after initial RN licensure. Once you complete eligibility requirements to take the certification examination and successfully pass the exam, you are awarded the credential: Registered Nurse-Board Certified (RN-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)
7. Certified in Executive Nursing Practice (CENP)
The American Organization of Nurse Executives Credentialing Center (AONE-CC) is a division of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE). Its mission is to create, facilitate and administer the premier certification programs for nurse executives and nurse managers. The AONE-CC Nurse Executive Steering Committee is charged with governance of the Certified in Executive Nursing Practice (CENP) certification program con- ducted by the AONE-CC. Committee members are appointed to represent AONE's professional certification program stakeholders.
- 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 Technician (CNT)
- 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? No
9. 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)
10. Wound Care Certified (WCC)
The NAWC offers the Wound Care Certification Examination to measure the academic and technical competence of eligible candidates in the area of Skin and Wound Care Management. Upon obtaining a passing score on the Certification examination, candidates may use the initials WCC, Wound Care Certified, to designate their status.
- 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)
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)
12. Pediatrics
A physician specializing in Pediatrics is concerned with the physical, emotional, and social health of children from birth to young adulthood.
- 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 10 year(s)
13. 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)
14. Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
The FNP certification examination is an entry-level competency-based examination that tests clinical knowledge in family/individual care.
- 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)
15. Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN)
The CEN certification is the certification specific to emergency nursing and measures the attainment of a defined body of nursing knowledge pertinent to that particular specialty.
- 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)
16. Certified EKG Technician (CET)
A Certified EKG Technician (CET) produces recording or electromotive variations in a patient's heart muscle, using electrocardiograph machine, to provide data for the diagnosis of heart ailments.
- 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)
17. Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN)
Certification shows that you have taken that extra step to validate your knowledge and skills. The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) encourage you to take the time to show your colleagues and patients your commitment to excellence in medical-surgical nursing practice.
- 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)
18. Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN)
The Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse certification provides a national standard of requisite knowledge thereby assisting the consumer, the employer, and members of the health profession in the elevation of the hospice and palliative nurse.
- 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)
19. Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse (CRRN)
- 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)
20. Pediatric Nursing (RN-BC)
The ANCC Pediatric Nursing board certification examination is a competency based examination that provides a valid and reliable assessment of the entry-level clinical knowledge and skills of registered nurses in the pediatric specialty after initial RN licensure. Once you complete eligibility requirements to take the certification examination and successfully pass the exam, you are awarded the credential: Registered Nurse-Board Certified (RN-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)
What is the best certification for a registered nurse?
The best registered nurse certification is Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA). The Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) is awarded by the American Red Cross. This certification is great to have as it shows an improvement in your competency to perform your role. You can earn this certification at the beginning of your career, as it often doesn't require a minimum education level and work experience. Here's a bit more background on how to obtain this registered nurse certification: To become a certified Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA), you need to pass the exam. Lucky you - certification doesn't require more than two years of work experience. Renew certification every year.
According to Wendy Robb Ph.D., Dean & Professor, School of Nursing, Hazel and Walter May Nursing Endowed Chair for Excellence in Nursing at Cedar Crest College, "To maximize your earning potential as a nurse entering the field, pursue certifications in specialty areas that increase marketability. Large hospital networks in urban areas often have higher pay scales and working nights, holidays, and weekends will often result in differential pay that will boost earnings. Negotiating your salary based on qualifications and market research can also maximize earnings. Never stop learning! Continually seek the next opportunity for growth. Don't be stagnant, advance your education with a new degree and seek niche positions that fulfill you."
According to Natalie Heywood DNP, RN, CNE, Clinical Assistant Professor, "When you are first starting as a nurse, it will be important to find a role that fits best for you. This could be in terms of the facility, unit, leadership, etc. To increase your salary potential as a nurse, you can focus on earning specialty certification for your area of specialization. An example of this would be an emergency room nurse earning their Certified Emergency Nurse (CNE) or an ICU nurse earning their Critical Care Certified Nurse (CCRN). In order to take these specialty exams, you usually need 2+ years of bedside practice. I recommend taking those first two years of your career to focus on gaining confidence in the RN role. Additionally, nurses can also look at furthering their education, through earning a graduate degree in nursing, which opens up opportunities including education and leadership roles. Many MSN-prepared nurses also work bedside."
What are some of the most in-demand certifications for registered nurses?
The most in-demand registered nurse certification is Basic Life Support based on all active job postings. Having this registered nurse certification will give you access to more registered nurse jobs with higher salaries.
According to Michael Urban, Senion Lecturer, Program Director at University of New Haven, "In the field of occupational therapy, and advance degree at the doctoral level over time with experience in addition to advance certifications in leadership skills such as mentoring, coaching, lean six sigma, project management, policy, and such forth will help to maxing their long-term earning potential. For those who are looking to seek advance certifications in areas such as hand therapy, sensory integration and other areas, look at what is required while in school and seek out additional courses and learning experiences with local clinics to help gain your knowledge and skills to qualify and pass the exams sooner."What certifications can impact a registered nurse career and salary?
The Certified Nurse Midwife certification will help you to secure a certified nurse midwife position, which will increase your pay and career trajectory. A certified nurse midwife's average salary is $93,653 whereas registered nurses make an average salary of $73,349.
According to Dr. Monika Feeney, Department Head for the School of Anesthesia and School of Nursing at Missouri State University, "Advanced practice skills/certifications generally increase your income potential."
The most common combination of registered nurse certifications include: Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA), Basic Life Support (BLS), and Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC).
Online courses for registered nurses to earn certifications
1. 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...
2. 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...
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. Providing Trauma-Informed Care
Exploring psychological trauma and how to provide care and compassion to trauma survivors...
5. 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...
6. 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...
7. 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...
8. 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...
9. 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...
10. 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...
11. 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...
12. 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...
13. 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...
14. 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...
15. 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...
16. Nursing Informatics Leadership Theory and Practice
“By the end of this Course, you will be able to…” • Evaluate effective leadership styles for leadership in nursing informatics in clinical or academic contexts to improve leadership success. • Discover core values that support effective nursing informatics leadership in academic and clinical contexts to inform development of a personal leadership mission statement. • Discover competing values and polarities related to knowledge leadership and management to promote successful leadership...
17. 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...
18. Medical Emergencies: CPR, Toxicology, and Wilderness
In this course, you will develop the knowledge and skills to assess and stabilize certain types of patients for transport. By the end of this course, you will be able to: (1) Identify the signs and symptoms associated with a patient in shock, to describe the major categories of shock, to assess a patient with signs of shock and formulate a plan for treatment to stabilize the patient for transport, (2) Identify a patient in cardiac arrest and to describe the components of high performance CPR...
19. Nursing Informatics Leaders
In this course, we explore the AMIA Nursing Informatics History Project. By the end of the module, you will understand the resources available that will be used in this course to learn about the first hand experiences, future vision, and lessons learned in becoming a nursing informatics pioneer. Course Objectives: • Explore the history of technology and its relationship to the beginning of nursing informatics to understand historical context and evolution of the specialty • Discover the AMIA...
20. 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...