Why go for certification? Certification demonstrates one's personal aspirations and one's desire to improve the quality of patient care and the delivery of care. Once certified, you achieved that personal satisfaction through increased confidence and growth on your chosen specialty field.
I do believe that becoming certified is part of being all that you can be in your chosen specialty field. Certification validates one's nursing specialty knowledge. It builds confidence in you as a professional. It is a testimonial of one's dedication to nursing and accountability to the profession.
Taking the credential examination is a risk. Everyone knows that there is a chance we may not pass it. We are not losing anything if we won't take it, but we will achieve so much if we will take it. The knowledge we acquired by studying for the examination offers so much value, and the satisfaction gained from knowing that you had enough confidence in your knowledge base to put into the test is overwhelming. At the end, the pride is following through a difficult task is well worth the risk.
For some nurses certification is a requirement for their job. For others it is voluntary. No matter what your motivation, certification can provide you with career advancement, lots of opportunities in your present position, or use it as a tool in search for new employment. It offers a great advantage in that some organizations have began to offer the certified nurses higher salaries and other benefits such as reimbursement for certification expenses.
Certification is an added qualification for a registered nurse. It is not an entry level pathway. As of today's health care reform, downsizing, cost containment, being a good nurse just is not enough anymore. To be competitive, everyone has to keep up- and keeping up with nursing means getting certified.
For more information concerning clinical areas that may interest you, contact these national certification boards.
American Nurses Credentialing Center - C, CS, CAN, CNAA
600 Maryland Ave., SW # 100 West
Washington, DC 20024-2571

Childbirth Educators - CCE
Prepared Childbirth Educators, Inc.
219 Central Ave.
Hatboro, PA 19040
1888-344-9972
Critical Care Nursing - CCRN
AACN Certification Corporation
101 Columbia
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
Diabetes Educators - CDE
National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators
330 East Algonquin Road, # 4
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Emergency Nursing - CEN, CFRN
Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing
216 Higgins Road
Park Ridge, IL 60068-5736
Gastroenterology - CGRN
Certifying Boar of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, Inc.
3525 Ellicott Mills Drive, Suite N
Ellicott City, MD 21043-4547

HIV/AIDS - ACRN
HIV/AIDS Nursing Certification Board
3538 Ridgewood Road
Akron, OH 44333-3122
PH: 800-260-6780
Infection Control - CIC
Certification Board of Infection Control, Inc.
1275 K St NW Ste 1000
Washington, DC 20005
Intravenous Nursing - CRN
Intravenous Nurses Certification Corp.
220 Norwood Park South
Norwood, MA 02062

Managed Care Nursing - CMCN
American Board of Managed Care Medicine
4435 Waterfront Dr., # 101
Glen Allen, VA 23060


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