Benefits of Certification
Becoming certified is one of the most positive and powerful achievements for you as a nursing professional. The Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN®) credential is the most prestigious in the specialty and shows that the nurse has reached the highest standard of practice. Certification benefits you, the nurse, by:
- Enhancing your confidence and satisfaction
- Validating your expert, specialized knowledge
- Increasing your professional growth and credibility
- Demonstrating your professional commitment
- Boosting earning power
- Garnering peer, collegial, and employer respect
Certification benefits the nursing profession and the public by:
- Promoting quality patient care
- Adhering to the standards of medical-surgical nursing practice
- Documenting a specialized knowledge base
Position Statements
"AMSN supports certification as a commitment to safe, evidence-based, holistic care which results in desired patient outcomes."
"ABSNC believes that the increasingly complex patient/client needs within the current healthcare delivery system, are best met when registered nurses, certified in specialty practice, provide nursing care."
Also see Benefits of Certification for Employers.
Bibliography
ABNS, the American Board of Nursing Specialties, maintains a certification bibliography on their Website.
The bibliography provides a list of published sources that focus on nursing certification that is updated yearly, most recently in January 2012. The bibliographic sources are grouped under the headings:
- General Information on Nursing Certification
- Specialty Certification
- Value of Certification
- Role Delineation/Exam Development
- Advanced Practice Certification
- Descriptive Studies
- Patient Outcome Studies
- Certification and Recertification Methods
- Continuing Competency
- General Interest
