By James X. Stobinski, Ph.D., RN, CNOR, CNAMB, CSSM(E)
In early November of 2021 I was invited by my colleague, Marianne Horahan, the director of certification services with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to speak at the ANCC National Magnet Conference. This was quite an honor. I co-presented with Marianne on the role of nursing specialty certification in the continuous professional development of nurses. Our theme was the potential value for nurses from voluntary nursing specialty certification programs.
The recertification processes of voluntary credentialing programs offer structured engagement throughout a career. Certification providers, such as the Competency and Credentialing Institute (CCI), can provide value to nurses with resources that otherwise might not be as widely available. Recertification programs, secondary to recently strengthened accreditation requirements, are shifting away from models based on the very familiar continuing education (CE) credits used for many years for licensure renewal. A gradual transition is underway with an emphasis on the continuous professional development (CPD) model. The CPD model is focused on learning outcomes versus time or hours-based programs. The ANCC accreditation program for nursing CPD (ANA Enterprise, n.d.) is illustrative of reinforcing a professional development focus. The ANCC CPD accreditation program assures the highest caliber education to meet licensure or recertification requirements.
A recent article by Reivent Technologies (2021) is germane to this transition away from a pure CE model by the certifying bodies. These authors state that, “61% of health care professionals find it difficult to attend meetings.” Attending professional meetings and workshops, which are a mainstay of CE-based systems, in addition to requiring a time and resource commitment can involve hassles – especially during a pandemic. The writers for Reivent make a case for online enduring materials (OEM) to address the CPD needs of health care professionals. The CE delivered at meetings and workshops is inherently ephemeral whereas OEM, as a collection of learning activities and materials, has more permanence and is often hosted on a website.
Learners desire a one-platform solution where they can access learning activities and materials on one site, complete those activities and have the documentation of completion stored at that site for easy retrieval. The CCI offers OEM to certificants as a benefit of certification; many of these materials are available without charges or fees. In addition, documentation of these activities populates recertification records in the registration system of the certificant. Any nurse holding an active CCI certification may access a diversity of CPD materials through the CCI Learning Management System (LMS). An example of an OEM is the Pressure Injury Prevention Microcredential recently developed in partnership with Mölnlycke Health Care AB. (CCI, 2021a).
With the transition away from a solely CE-based system, CCI has concentrated a wealth of enduring professional development material within its proprietary LMS. Like the Mölnlycke microcredential, some of these materials were sponsored by corporate partners such as Beyond Clean and the National Institute of First Assisting (NIFA). In the LMS, using OEM, learners manage their own learning experience which allows them to tailor their professional development choices. The LMS is available 24 hours a day giving the learner immense flexibility at a low cost.
The mission of the Competency and Credentialing Institute is, “To promote continuous professional development which drives safe, quality patient care.” Our vision is, “To grow a community of certificants and lifelong learners for whom CCI is a catalyst and integral partner.” (2021b). CCI believes that OEM is a tangible and substantive example of that partnership. In 2022, we will continue to add OEM to the CCI website while we also administer six credentials for the perioperative nursing community.
– James X. Stobinski, Ph.D., RN, CNOR, CNAMB, CSSM(E), is CEO of the Competency and Credentialing Institute.
References
- ANA Enterprise (n.d.) Nursing Continuing Professional Development. Accessed 21 November 2021 at: https://www.nursingworld.org/organizational-programs/accreditation/ncpd/#:~:text=The%20ANCC%20Accreditation%20Program%20identifies%20organizations%20worldwide%20that,implement%20and%20evaluate%20the%20highest%20quality%20NCPD%20activities.
- Competency and Credentialing Institute (2021a). Pressure Injury Prevention (PIP) in Intraoperative Care Microcredential. Accessed 21 November 2021 at: Product Detail (cc-institute.org)
- Competency and Credentialing Institute (2021b). About us. Accessed 21 November 2021 at: About Us | Perioperative Certification | CCI (cc-institute.org)
- Reivent Technologies (2021) [blog post]. Is “Learning Time” a Precious Commodity in Continuing Education? Accessed 7 November 2021 at: https://rievent.com/insights/blog/is-learning-time-a-precious-commodity-in-continuing-education
