Nursing credentials and certifications are the various credentials and certifications that a person must have to practice nursing legally. Nurses' postnominal letters (abbreviations listed after the name) reflect their credentials—that is, their achievements in nursing education, licensure, certification, and fellowship. The letters usually appear in the following order: Highest earned academic degree in or related to nursing (e.g. "DNP" or "PhD") Nursing licensure (e.g. "APRN," "RN," "LPN") Nursing certification (e.g. "CCRN") Nursing fellowship (e.g. "FAAN")
Generally, credentials are listed from most to least permanent. A degree, once earned, cannot, in normal circumstances, be taken away. State licensure is active until retirement and otherwise only revoked in cases of serious professional misconduct. Certifications generally must be periodically renewed by examination or the completion of a prescribed number of continuing education units (CEUs). This is often called maintenance of certification.
Nurses may also hold non-nursing credentials including academic degrees. These are usually omitted unless they are related to the nurse's job. For instance, those with master's degrees usually do not list their bachelor's degrees (only the highest earned degree), and a staff nurse would likely not list an MBA, but a nurse manager might choose to do so.
Some nurses who achieve a master's degree (MSN) leave the patient-care aspect of nursing, and practice in a more managerial role. An example would be earning an MSN in healthcare risk management. Such a nurse, while still fully an accredited nurse, will likely become the risk manager for a hospital, working in health administration rather than direct care and perhaps even becoming the director or manager of the risk-management department. In this role, he or she may never see another patient except while doing hospital inspections, or perhaps talking to a patient or the patient's family about a quality-of-care concern. In this role, the nurse becomes something similar to an auditor and a teacher of patient care quality and risk for the entire hospital staff. This nurse likely will also get the certification CPHQ: Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality.
Nursing credentials are separated from the person's name (and from each other) with commas. Usually, no periods are placed within the credentials (e.g. "BSN" not "B.S.N.")
Nursing certifications In the United States and Canada, many nurses who choose a specialty become certified in that area, signifying that they possess expert knowledge. Over 200 nursing specialties and subspecialties are available. Studies from the Institute of Medicine have demonstrated that specialty-certified nurses have higher rates of patient satisfaction and lower rates of work-related errors in patient care.
Registered nurses (RNs) are not required to be certified in a certain specialty by law. For example, it is not necessary to be a certified medical-surgical registered nurse (CMSRN) (the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses [AMSN] certification, administered by the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board [MSNCB]) to work on a medical-surgical floor, and most medical-surgical nurses are not CMSRNs. Certifications do, however, instill professionalism and make the nurse more attractive to prospective and current employers. Certified nurses may earn a salary differential over their uncertified colleagues, but this is rare.
Some hospitals and other health-care facilities are willing to pay certified nurses extra when they work within their specialties. Also, some hospitals may require certain nurses, such as nursing supervisors or lead nurses, be certified. Certification instills confidence in the nurses. Magnet hospitals advocate certifications.
Alphabetical listing of nursing and related credentials and certifications
Key Throughout the list, the following credentialing organizations are mentioned: AACN: American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (http://www.aacn.org) AHNCC: American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (http://www.ahncc.org) ANCC: American Nurses Credentialing Center (https://www.nursingworld.org/ancc/) AANPBC: American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (http://www.aanpcert.org) ONCC: Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (http://www.oncc.org)
A AAS: Associate of Applied Science AAN: Associate of Arts in Nursing ABLS: Advanced Burn Life Support (not intended for postnominal use) ABQAURP: CHCQM - Board Certification in Health Care Quality and Management ACCNS-AG: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist (Certified by AACN) ACCNS-N: Neonatal Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist (Certified by AACN) ACCNS-P: Pediatric Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist (Certified by AACN) ACHPN: Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse ACHRN: Advanced Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurse ACLS: Advanced Cardiac Life Support (not intended for postnominal use) ACM-RN: Accredited Case Manager-Registered Nurse ACNP-BC: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified ACNPC: Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certification (Certified by AACN) ACNPC-AG: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certification (Certified by AACN) ACNS-BC: Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist - Board Certified ACRN: AIDS Certified Registered Nurse ADLS: Advanced Disaster Life Support ADN: Associate Degree in Nursing AFN-BC: Advanced Forensic Nursing–Board Certified (http://nursecredentialing.org/ForensicNursing-Advanced) AGACNP-BC: Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (certified by ANCC) AGPCNP-BC: Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (certified by ANCC) AGNP-C: Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner-Certified (certified by AANPBC) AHN-BC: Advanced Holistic Nurse-Board Certified (certified by AHNCC) ALNC: Advanced Legal Nurse Consultant AMB-BC: Ambulatory Care Nursing Certification (certified by AACN) ANEF: Academy of Nursing Education Fellow ANLC: Advanced Nurse Lactation Consultant ANP-BC: Adult Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified (certified by ANCC) ANP-C: Adult Nurse Practitioner-Certified (certified by AANPBC) ANVP: Advanced Neurovascular Practitioner AOCN: Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse AOCNP: Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse Practitioner AOCNS: Advanced Oncology Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist APHN-BC: Advanced Public Health Nurse-Board Certified (changed to PHNA-BC) APHN-BC: Advanced Practice Holistic Nurse-Board Certified (certified by AHNCC) APN: Advanced Practice Nurse APNP: Advanced Practice Nurse Prescriber APP: Advanced Practice Provider APRN: Advanced Practice Registered Nurse ARNP: Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner ASN: Associate of Science in Nursing ATCN: Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses course
B BLS: Basic Life Support (not intended for postnominal use) BDLS: Basic Disaster Life Support BCEN: Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (not intended for postnominal use) BM: Bachelor of Midwifery BMTCN: Blood and Marrow Transplant Certified Nurse BN: Bachelor of Nursing BNSc: Bachelor of Nursing Science BPS: Bachelor of Professional Studies with a concentration in Nursing BS: Bachelor of Science with Nursing Major BScN: Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Canada) BHSc Nsg: Bachelor of Health Science—Nursing Nursing Qualification for RNs in Australia BSN: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
C CANP: Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner CAPA: Certified Ambulatory Perianesthesia nurse CARN: Certified Addictions Registered Nurse CATN-I: Course in Advanced Trauma Nursing -Instructor (not intended for postnominal use) CATN-P: Course in Advanced Trauma Nursing -Provider (not intended for postnominal use) CBCN: Certified Breast Care Nurse CBN: Certified Bariatric Nurse CCCI: Canadian Certified Clinical Instructor CCCN: Certified Continence Care Nurse CCDS: Certified Clinical Documentation Specialist CCE: Certified Childbirth Educator CCHP: Certified Correctional Health Professional CCHP-CP: Certified Correctional Health Professional-Clinical Provider CCM: Certified Case Manager CCNS: Acute Care Clinical Nurse Specialist CCRN: Certification in Acute/Critical Care Nursing CCTC: Certified Clinical Transplant Coordinator CCTN: Certified Clinical Transplant Nurse CDAL: Certified Director of Assisted Living CDDN: Certified Developmental Disabilities Nurse CDCES: Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist CDMS: Certified Disability Management Specialist CDN: Certified Dialysis Nurse CDONA/LTC: Certified Director of Nursing Administration/Long Term Care C-EFM: Certified in Electronic Fetal Monitoring CEN: Certified Emergency Nurse CENP: Certified Executive in Nursing Practice CETN: Certified Enterostomal Therapy Nurse CFCN: Certified Foot Care Nurse CFN: Certified Forensic Nurse CFNP: Certified Family Nurse Practitioner CFPN: Certified Foundational Perioperative Nurse CFRN: Certified Flight Registered Nurse CGN: Certified Gastroenterology Nurse CGRN: Certified Gastroenterology Registered Nurse CHES: Certified Health Education Specialist CHN: Certified Hemodialysis Nurse CHPLN: Certified Hospice and Palliative Licensed Nurse CHPN: Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse CHPNA: Certified Hospice and Palliative Nursing Assistant CHPPN: Certified Hospice and Palliative Pediatric Nurse CHRN: Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurse CHSE: Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator CHSE-A: Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator-Advanced CHSOS: Certified Healthcare Simulation Operations Specialist CIC: Certified in Infection Control CLC: Certified Lactation Counselor CLNC: Certified Legal Nurse Consultant CLS: Clinical Laboratory Scientist CM: Certified Midwife CMA: Certified Medical Assistant CMAS: Certified Medical Audit Specialist CMC: Cardiac Medicine Certification CMCN: Certified Managed Care Nurse CMDSC: Certified MDS Coordinator CMSRN: Certified Medical—Surgical Registered Nurse CNA: Certified Nursing Assistant CNAMB: Certified Ambulatory Surgery Nurse CNCC(C): Certified Nurse in Critical Care (Canada) CNE: Certified Nursing Educator CNE: Chief Nurse Executive CNeph(C): Certified in Nephrology Nursing (Canada) CNL: Clinical Nurse Leader CNLCP: Certified Nurse Life Care Planner CNM: Certified Nurse Midwife CNML: Certified Nurse Manager and Leader CNN: Certified in Nephrology Nursing CNO: Chief Nursing Officer CNOR: Certified Perioperative Nurse CNP: Certified Nurse Practitioner C-NPT: Certified in Neonatal Pediatric Transport CNRN: Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse CNS: Clinical Nurse Specialist CNSC: Certified Nutrition Support Clinician (Formerly CNSN: Certified Nutrition Support Nurse) COCN: Certified Ostomy Care Nurse COHC: Certified Occupational Hearing Conservationist COHN: Certified Occupational Health Nurse COHN/CM: Certified Occupational Health Nurse/Case Manager COHN-S: Certified Occupational Health Nurse—Specialist COHN-S/CM: Certified Occupational Health Nurse—Specialist/Case Manager CORLN: Certified Otorhinolaryngology Nurse CPAN: Certified Post Anesthesia Nurse CPDN: Certified Peritoneal Dialysis Nurse CPEN: Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse CPHON: Certified Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurse CPHQ: Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality CPLC: Certified in Perinatal Loss Care CPN: Certified Pediatric Nurse or Community Psychiatric Nurse (United Kingdom) CPNA: Certified Pediatric Nurse Associate CPNL: Certified Practical Nurse, Long-term care CPNP: Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner CPON: Certified Pediatric Oncology Nurse CPSN: Certified Plastic Surgical Nurse CRN: Certified Radiologic Nurse CRNA: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist CRNFA: Certified Registered Nurse First Assistant CRNI: Certified Registered Nurse Infusion CRNL: Certified Registered Nurse, Long-term care