CCI

As National Volunteer Week (April 19-25) approaches, perioperative nurses nationwide are taking time to elevate their profession through service. For many, volunteering with the Competency & Credentialing Institute (CCI) is more than giving back – it’s a strategic path to developing leadership skills that support career growth and strengthen patient care (Journal of Applied Psychology).

Every perioperative nurse has asked the question: “Is there a better way to do this?” Maybe it’s about preventing surgical site infections, improving team communication during handoffs or helping patients recover faster. These everyday questions are the seeds of research, but they need something critical to grow – funding.

A recent change in federal law is making professional certification more financially accessible for individuals to pursue and maintain professional credentials. The Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act, signed into law July 4, 2025, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, expands 529 savings plans to include many professional certifications. This update shifts these accounts from college savings tools to broader career savings plans. (United States Congress, 2025)

In perioperative nursing, the answer isn’t a distant authority or a corporate board. It’s the nurses who scrub in beside you, circulate in your OR and face the same challenges you do. They come together from hospitals, outpatient centers and specialty practices to define, in clear terms, what it means to do this work well.

As the new year approaches, many professionals working in the operating room, whether surgical technologists, circulating nurses or team leads, begin to reflect on their career paths. For those who’ve heard of the Competency & Credentialing Institute (CCI) but haven’t yet pursued certification, now may be the perfect time to ask: Am I ready to take the next step?