Sample Articles for Staff Newsletters

The Benefits of RN Specialty Certification

Nurses at all practice levels are encouraged to bring ideas and articles to their nursing division or hospital newsletter editors. These are perfect venues to help your colleagues understand the need to remind and encourage nurses to support, reward, and even require certification by RNs in their areas of spe-cialty practice. So dust off your best journalistic talents and go make a byline for yourself with the aid of these template suggestions. Remember these are suggested outlines – you need to re-work the article to make it sound like your voice and reflect you as a certified RN!

#1. Why I Became a Certified Nurse

XX number of years ago I graduated from nursing school and received my license to practice. I was so excited to begin my career helping patients and working within a health care team. But a few years after I became a nurse, I recognized that my practice was specializing and that more and more I was becoming a (YOUR SPECIALTY HERE) nurse. I wanted to challenge myself, learn new things about my practice area, and differentiate myself with a unique credential – I became a RN certified nurse in (YOUR SPECIALTY CERTIFICATION HERE).

Working at XXXX hospital or medical center helped me make this decision to become certified. I received tremendous support from my managers and colleagues to obtain and maintain my certification. I continue to stay involved with supporting other nurses seeking RN-specialty certification, and I have been working to help our facility reward employees with {insert your organization’s related benefits here, i.e., reimbursement for certification costs/professional development funds, recognition at a special luncheon, a jump in salary, etc.}.

The truth is nursing practice evolves. As nurses, we have to be ready to meet the challenges of an aging population, technological advances, and new role and scope delineations, etc. Certification can be a valuable tool in helping maintain your competence for your patients, within your health care team, and often to meet licensure requirements. Make a commitment to investigate your RN specialty board of certification and learn how you can take your career and personal commitment to nursing to a new level. If you need help finding resources, the American Board of Nursing Specialties can be an excellent source at www.abns.org. Looking forward to celebrating your success in the future!

BY: XXX XXXXX, RN, CERTIFICATION CREDENTIALS, UNIT

#2. RN Specialty Certification: Benefits for Beginners

You hold a fulltime job here, at home, and a hundred other places where you give of your time and your talent . . . why would you want to take another one of those tests to become a certified RN?

Because you are worth it! The first benefit of being certified as an RN in your area of specialty practice is the self-satisfaction it brings being a “cut above” the minimum licensure requirements you need to practice legally. I feel better knowing I am stretching myself to stay current in my field and working to keep it that way with re-certification.

And your colleagues are worth it too. As a certified nurse I find I have more to offer in the way I interact with my team. I am more confident and assured that I have current knowledge to practice today.

For the patients, I am a nurse to help people feel better, get better, and stay better. Attaining the highest credential in my specialty RN area is the least of what they deserve. Staying certified in my field of specialty is what will become the norm down the road as maintenance of competency becomes what licensure is today. Stay ahead of the ‘curve,’ as they say . . . .

Need information about RN certification? Checkout the American Board of Nursing Specialties at www.abns.org.

Need additional facts to add to your article?

Checklist of Benefits to Employers of RNs Holding Certifications

ü  Increases patient safety and satisfaction.

ü  Enhances utilization of evidence-based guidelines into practice.

ü  Signifies professional recognition of up-to-date RN experience, knowledge, and skills.

ü  Promotes a culture of professionalism and retention.

ü  Allows facilities to demonstrate to patients and competitors that their nursing workforce is highly skilled and experienced.

ü  Creates confident nurses through validation of a nurse’s expert knowledge and skills.

ü  Meets patients’ preference for certified RNs. (Validated by a survey from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, patients prefer hospitals that employ nurses with specialty certification – three in four respondents said that, given a choice, they are much more likely to select a hospital that employs a high percentage of nurses with specialty certification. Accessed at http://www.aacn.org/wd/certifications/content/benefitstoptempnrs.pcms?menu=certification).

ü  Improves risk management through increased continuing education and experience that optimally prepares the nurse to make informed decisions. (According to leading insurance providers, discounts on malpractice premiums are available to nurses who are certified in their specialties. For example, BCEN-certified nurses, who are members of the Emergency Nurses Association, receive a 10% savings through the Nurse Service Organization and certified acute and critical care nurses receive a 10% savings through Marsh Affinity Services.)

2/22/13

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