Medical-surgical nurses are the backbone of health and wellness care in the
United States. Indeed, new nursing graduates are strongly encouraged to
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in a hospital as a medical-surgical nurse for 1 to 2 years to hone their skills before branching out into other areas of nursing. In 1972, the American Nurses
Association (ANA) recognized this valuable specialty by certifying medicalsurgical nurses through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) —
almost 151,000 nurses have been certified to date in more than 30 specialty and
advanced practice areas of nursing. Further, as of 1990, a new medical-surgical
nursing organization, the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN), was
founded to serve the specific educational needs of this group of nurses. The
AMSN has also developed a certification examination to recognize the knowledge base of the practicing medical-surgical nurse.
The ANCC certification examination
The ANA offers two examinations for medical-surgical nursing certification: a
basic medical-surgical nurse examination and a clinical specialist examination
in medical-surgical nursing. The ANCC administers the examinations each
June and October in cities throughout the United States and its territories. The
tests are given in the morning and last about 4 hours.
Eligibility and application
The ANCC establishes criteria for eligibility to take the examination. Requirements for the basic examination differ from those of the clinical specialist examination. The criteria discussed in this book were in effect as of the 2006 examination. Because requirements can change, candidates should obtain the latest criteria before applying for certification. (See ANCC certification eligibility
requirements, page 2.) The medical-surgical nursing examination is available to
nurses with an associate’s degree or diploma, thus establishing two levels of
credentialing. Nurses certified at the baccalaureate level are designated as
Board Certified, or “RN,BC”; nurses certified at the associate or diploma level
are designated as Certified, or “RN,C.” The credential approved for clinical
nurse specialists is “APRN,BC.”
After you have decided to prepare for the examination, obtain the certification catalog by writing to the American Nurses Credentialing Center, 8515
Georgia Ave., Suite 400, Silver Springs, MD 20910-3492, or by calling toll-free
1-800-284-2378. This catalog provides all the information you’ll need to apply [Show Less]