The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
(AACN) joins hospitals and other healthcare organizations in recognizing certified nurses for their professionalism, leadership, and commitment to excellence in patient and family care on Wednesday, March 19, as part of Certified Nurses Day.
As healthcare becomes increasingly complex and challenging, nursing certification has become an essential mark of excellence. Specialty certification reaffirms nurses’ commitment to using the best evidence to provide care for patients and families. Achieving certification demonstrates to patients/families, employers, and the healthcare team that a nurse’s knowledge reflects national standards and a strong commitment to patient safety.
AACN recently published “Nursing Certification: Just Go For It!” with Brianna Valentine, RN, CCRN, who became certified in 2024 during AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition.
“I wanted my colleagues to realize that I’m an experienced nurse whose judgment they can trust. I wanted to truly understand the evidence behind our practices and have the clinical knowledge to justify my approach to patient care – and certification seemed like the best way to do that,” she said.
The article about Valentine joins other Nurse Stories and articles on the AACN website that underscore the personal pride and commitment to professionalism and quality care from certified nurses:
“I’m Certified: The Path to Nursing Excellence” is a Q&A interview with Collyn West, MSN, RN, CNL, PCCN, a director of nursing in acute care, about her certification journey.
In “Inspiring Nurses to Achieve Certification,” several nurses share what motivated them to become a certified nurse.
“Why Would I Need More Than One Nursing Certification?” highlights three nurses who hold multiple certifications, including a specialty certification as a nursing professional development practitioner.
According to the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS), more than a million nurses and advanced practice nurses in the United States and Canada hold one or more specialty nursing credentials. Fifty-six U.S.-based credentialing organizations granted these certifications, representing 148 different credentials.
Currently, more than 131,000 critical care, progressive care, and advanced practice nurses hold AACN Certification Corporation credentials: CCRN, PCCN, ACNPC, ACNPC-AG, CCNS, ACCNS-AG, ACCNS-P, ACCNS-N, CMC and CSC.
Certified Nurses Day, an annual worldwide event, is dedicated to celebrating certification as a means to help promote high standards of patient care and excellence in the nursing profession. Initially proposed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the day honors the birthday of the late Margretta “Gretta” Madden Styles, an international pioneer in nursing certification and longtime friend of AACN and AACN Certification Corporation. Styles designed the first comprehensive study of nurse credentialing.
For more information about Certified Nurses Day, visit www.aacn.org/certnursesday.
The post Certified Nurses, Inspiring Stories: Celebrating Excellence on Certified Nurses Day first appeared on Daily Nurse.