By Lisa Rosenfield
Certification serves as a compass to direct nurses’ clinical practice towards nationally accepted standards. Perioperative nurses who earn credentials from the Competency & Credentialing Institute (CCI) not only exhibit their commitment to improving patient outcomes, but also demonstrate their mastery of knowledge.
In support of certification and lifelong learning, CCI has developed the TrueNorth Award Program to celebrate certification excellence. This program recognizes facilities which use certification as a “true north” to guide their perioperative nursing staff to be lifelong learners, models of competent practice, and advocates for excellence and patient safety.
Health care organizations which employ CNOR, CSSM, CNAMB, CFPN, CNS-CP, or NPDA-BC certified perioperative nurses are eligible to apply for this award. Organizations include, but are not limited to, hospitals, health systems, surgical services departments, ambulatory surgery centers, and units or divisions of a larger organization. Organizations which employ any member of the CCI Board of Directors or CCI staff are ineligible. Applications can be submitted during a two-month window from October 1 through November 30, 2023.
The president of the CCI Board of Directors appoints an independent selection committee to review applications and select award recipients. Applications are evaluated based on criteria which demonstrate how an organization advances the cause of perioperative specialty nursing certification. Award recipients demonstrate a consistent history of implementing activities which encourage, support and reward professional perioperative registered nurses in achieving CNOR, CSSM, CNAMB, CFPN, CNS-CP or NPDA-BC certification. The evaluation criteria components are divided into four distinct categories and the scoring rubrics for each category are available on the TrueNorth landing page.
Category 1 reflects Five Elements of Nursing Specialty Certification and focuses on descriptions and documentation of evidence about how each of these five elements is demonstrated. Points are awarded for each element and the maximum point value for Category 1 is 30 points.
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Element 1 |
Structure |
How the facility supports nurses in their certification journey |
|
Element 2 |
Recognition |
How the facility acknowledges and supports certified employees |
|
Element 3 |
Professional Engagement |
How the facility promotes internal professional development activities |
|
Element 4 |
Dissemination |
How employee outreach efforts and activities are reflected |
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Element 5 |
Volunteer Service |
How facilities encourage and promote volunteer service among their nursing staff |
Category 2 reflects Certification Ratios and is a mathematical calculation. It represents the numerical reflection of the number of FTE perioperative nurses who are eligible to be certified in comparison to the number of FTE perioperative nurses who are certified. The maximum point value for Category 2 is 10 points.
Category 3 reflects Documentation of Leadership Support and requests letters from the chief nursing officer, chief executive officer, or chief operating officer, and the director of surgical services (or manager) to document facility support for certification. The maximum point value for Category 3 is 10 points.
Category 4 reflects the Impact of Certification and requires a narrative describing and documenting accomplishments, achievements and outcomes (including citations of specific examples) from the previous three-year period. The maximum point value for Category 4 is 50 points.
Additional information about the TrueNorth program can be found on the TrueNorth landing page and eligible facilities are encouraged to submit an application. CCI is honored to promote and celebrate certification excellence via this distinguished program!
– Lisa Rosenfield, MA, works in the area of Special Projects and Partnerships at the Competency and Credentialing Institute. Her scope of work includes designing, implementing, and managing organizational-wide initiatives and signature programs. She also develops, cultivates, and maintains external partnerships. She holds a BS in Human Development and an MA in Educational Administration, Supervision and Curriculum.
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