Focus on Issues Related to Nephrology Nursing Certification
Barbara F. Prowant
Nancy M. Gallagher
The
Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission (NNCC), formerly the
Nephrology Nursing Certification Board, was established in 1987 for the
purpose of developing a professional certification program for
nephrology nurses. The goal of this new, specialty nursing
certification board was “to promote the highest standards of nephrology
nursing practice through the development, implementation, coordination,
and evaluation of all aspects of the certification and recertification
process” (Parker, 1988). The NNCC is a separately incorporated,
independent professional nursing organization that works
collaboratively with a professional testing agency, the Center for
Nursing Education and Testing, to develop and administer nephrology
nursing examinations. The NNCC is composed of eight commissioners, who
hold various levels of certification in nephrology nursing, and one
“public member” who is not a nephrology nurse.
The NNCC currently offers 4 levels of certification examinations:
- the Certified Nephrology Nurse examination (CNN credential), which has been offered since 1987.
- the Certified Dialysis Nurse examination (CDN credential), first offered in 2001.
- the
Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Technician examination (CCHT
credential), which was initially developed by a joint ANNA/National
Association of Nephrology Technicians (NANT) task force and first
administered in 2001 (NNCC, 2000).
- the Certified Nephrology Nurse Practitioner examination (CNN-NP), the newest examination, which was first offered in 2006.
Each
examination was developed to address critical skills and knowledge
identified through a job analysis or role delineation survey of
practicing nephrology nurses or technicians (Parker, 1987; Cote, 2006).
The examinations also meet strict psychometric criteria for validity
and reliability, and each question is tested before it is included as
an official item and is counted as part of the test score.
About Professional Certification
Certification
is both a process and a designation. It is a process though which a
non-governmental agency or association certifies that an individual
licensed to practice a profession has met certain predetermined
practice standards (American Nurses Association, 1979). And
certification is a designation earned by an individual to assure that
he/she is qualified to perform a specific job or task (Wickipedia,
2007). Nurses believe that professional nursing certification validates
specialized knowledge and indicates a level of competence and
professional credibility (American Board of Nursing Specialties, 2006).
However, certification is not limited to healthcare professionals; it
is common in other industries.
The primary purpose of certification is to promote public safety. One
way certification protects the public is by enabling consumers to
identify competent professionals. In nursing, certification contributes
to improving the quality of nursing care the public receives and helps
to protect against incompetent practitioners (American Nurses
Association, 1979). Certification, as defined by the American Board of
Nursing Specialties, is “the formal recognition of the specialized
knowledge, skills, and experience demonstrated by the achievement of
standards identified by a nursing specialty to promote optimal health
outcomes” (American Board of Nursing Specialties, 2007).
ANNA Endorses Nursing Certification
The
American Nephrology Nurses’ Association (ANNA) recognizes that
certification is an essential component of specialty nursing practice
and encourages certification for all levels of nephrology nursing
practice (ANNA, 2003). Furthermore, ANNA officially recognizes the
autonomy of the NNCC and acknowledges a collaborative relationship
between the two organizations (ANNA, 2002).
ANNA’s commitment to nursing certification and the collaboration
between ANNA and NNCC are evidenced by this new Nephrology Nursing
Journal department column. The goals of the column are threefold:
- to provide information about nephrology nursing certification,
- to disseminate the latest news related to nephrology nursing certification,
- to answer your questions about nephrology nursing certification.
If
you would like to submit a question, see the information in the shaded
box on the first page of this article. If you would like more
information about certification, you may visit the NNCC website at
www.nncc-exam.org or call (888) 884.6622.
The
goal of both ANNA and NNCC through their commitment to certification is
to improve the care delivered to our patients and ultimately to improve
their outcomes.
References
American
Board of Nursing Specialties (2006). Value of certification survey
executive summary. [On-line]. Retrieved August 20, 2007 from
www.nursingcertification.org/pdf/executive_ summary.pdf.
American Board of Nursing Specialties. (2007). [On-line]. Retrieved August 20, 2007 from http://nursingcertification.org/.
American Nephrology Nurses’ Association. (2002). Autonomy of the
Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission (NNCC) [Position
statement]. [On-line]. Retrieved August 20, 2007 from
http://www.annanurse.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ANNA
Nurse.woa/wa/viewSection?s_id=1073744052&ss_id
=536873322&tName=nnccAutonomy.
American Nephrology Nurses’ Association. (2003). Certification in
nephrology nursing [Position statement]. [On-line]. Retrieved August
20, 2007 from http://www.annanurse.
org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ANNANurse.woa/wa/
viewSection?s_id=1073744052&ss_id=536873322 &tName=certNeph.
American Nurses Association. (1979). The study of credentialing in nursing: A new approach. Kansas City, MO: Author.
Cote, D. (2006). NNCC experiences another year of positive growth in
2005-2006. In NNCC 2005-2006 Annual Report. Pitman, NJ: Nephrology
Nursing Certification Commission.
Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission. (2000). NNCC announces the
introduction of a hemodialysis patient care technician examination.
ANNA Update, 30(6), 44.
Parker, J. (1987). Annual reports: The state of the association, President’s report. ANNA Journal, 14(2), 79-80.
Parker, J. (1988). 1987-88 ANNA annual reports, Immediate Past President. ANNA Journal, 15(2), 71-72.
Wickipedia. (2007). [On-line]. Retrieved August 20, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_certification.
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