Nurse certification is necessary for a registered nurse to legally practice in a state. Basic qualifications can be completed through an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program, followed by the National Council Licensing Examination. Nurses can then gain certification in a specific field of nursing, which often requires work experience and passing an exam.
Nurse certification refers to the formal qualifications a nurse must have. There are several basic types of certification that a registered nurse can complete to be qualified and legally permitted to practice as a registered nurse in a state. Once a nurse completes basic qualifications and becomes licensed and certified, the nurse can gain additional experience and education to earn certification in a specified area of nursing.
To work as a nurse, nurses must obtain a minimum basic diploma. There’s more than one way to do this. Different types of basic education required for certification have different requirements.
A registered nurse can become a registered nurse, or RN. This can usually be done through an associate’s degree program at a community college. Nurses must also gain work experience, usually in the form of an internship.
Alternatively, a registered nurse can pursue additional formal education by earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing or a BSN. This is done at a four-year college. Generally, the nurse needs to fulfill the basic educational requirements to obtain her degree and she must also take enough classes specific to nursing. Work experience is also often required in these cases.
After a nurse earns an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in the United States, she must take the National Council Licensing Examination (NCLEX). This tests her basic knowledge of the nursing skills she will need to function as a registered nurse. Each of the 50 states in the United States requires nurses to complete this national exam to obtain a license and become certified.
Once a registered nurse is licensed, they can earn nurse certification in a specific field of nursing. For example, a nurse might earn a nursing certification in neonatal nursing if she wants to work primarily with babies in the neonatal unit. A registered nurse can also become a diabetes nurse, nursing midwife, maternity nurse, oncology nurse, or another type of specialist nurse. Many hospitals and academic institutions offer courses that allow nurses to earn certification as a registered nurse in one of these specific fields.
Generally, both work experience within the specific field of medicine and passing an exam to test basic knowledge are required for a nurse to gain this type of additional certification. Some hospitals will require a nurse working in specific units or departments to have this certification. In other cases, certification can make a nurse a more attractive candidate for a particular job.
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