The AACN Certification Corporation is pleased to offer an advanced
practice certification program for Clinical Nurse Specialists in acute and critical
care.
AACN Certification Corporation, in conjunction with Professional
Examination Service, our former testing partner, used the
AACN Synergy Model for Patient Care, a framework that matches patient needs with nurse competencies, to develop this
program. The credential CCNS has been approved for those nurses who have successfully
completed the certification program.
The CCNS examinations are three-and-a-half (3 ½) hour
tests consisting of 175 multiple-choice items. On each exam, 78% of the items address
content where the age of the patient spans the developmental spectrum. The remaining
22% of each exam addresses adult, neonatal, or pediatric patients. Unscored pretest
items are included on each CCNS exam. The exams are given at over 100 Applied Measurement
Professionals, Inc.
(AMP) testing sites across the United States via
Computer-Based Testing, five days a week year-round.
* Current unencumbered licensure as a registered nurse in the
United States. An unencumbered license has
no provisions or conditions that limit the nurse's practice in any way.
Candidates must submit a photocopy of their current, valid RN or APRN license.
It is the responsibility of candidates and CCNS-certified nurses to notify the AACN
Certification Corporation when any restriction is placed on their RN license.
* Completion of a graduate advanced practice education program
meeting the following requirements:
1. The education program is offered by an accredited college
or university that offers a master's degree or higher in nursing with a concentration
as an acute/critical care clinical nurse specialist.
2. Both direct and indirect clinical supervision must be congruent
with current AACN and nursing accreditation guidelines
3. The curriculum includes, but is not limited to:
- biological, behavioral, medical and nursing sciences relevant to practice as CNS,
including pathophysiology, pharmacology and physical assessment
- legal ethical and professional responsibilities of the CNS
- supervised clinical practice relevant to the specialty of acute/critical care
4. The curriculum meets the following criteria:
- curriculum is consistent with competencies of acute/critical care CNS practice
- instructional track/major has a minimum of 500 supervised clinical hours overall
- the supervised clinical experience is directly related to the knowledge and all
role components of the acute/critical care CNS
* 500 hours in direct clinical practice within the master's
program
Candidates must obtain an
official educational transcript to be submitted with their CCNS exam application.
Candidates must have the
Program Director of their educational program complete and sign the
Educational Eligibility Verification Form (located in the
Certification Exam Handbook
) to be submitted with their CCNS exam application.
* Evidence of expertise in clinical knowledge, skills and judgment,
as demonstrated by one of the following:
- Basic or advanced certification in nursing
- Publication demonstrating expert knowledge in your identified
clinical field
- Presentation at a local, regional or national conference
on a clinical nursing topic in your field of expertise
- Participation in a clinical research project in your field
of expertise
* Applicants determined to be ineligible for the exam will
have their applications fee refunded. Eligibility
for the examination is not appealable.
* AACN Certification Corporation may adopt additional eligibility
requirements at its sole discretion from time to time. Any such requirements will
be designed to establish, for the purposes of CCNS certification, the adequacy of
a candidate's knowledge and experience in caring for the acutely and critically
ill.
AACN Certification Corporation has contacted the State Boards
of Nursing in all 50 states to request recognition of the CCNS certification exam
for clinical nurse specialists in acute and critical care. Depending on the wording
of its specific statute or rule, each state that recognizes the clinical nurse specialist
role for advanced practice status may have the option to provide some type of approval
of the CCNS exam process. This recognition can be either by:
- approval of the AACN Certification Corporation as an authorized
certification body acceptable to the board, or
- approval of the examination itself as a certifying examination
acceptable to the board.
We are delighted to provide an update to the number of State
Boards of Nursing which have approved the CCNS Certification as meeting their criteria
for qualifying nurses for Advanced Practice RN designation and/or licensure. As
of April 25, 2007, the following Boards
of Nursing have either approved the CCNS exam, or have listed AACN Certification
Corporation as an approved certification body: Alabama, Arkansas,
California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina,
North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and
Wyoming. Some State Boards of Nursing accept the CCNS examination but
do not use a formal approval process. These states include
Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Virginia.
All nurses intending to use the CCNS to obtain AP licensure
in their state should check with their State Board of Nursing for specific licensing
requirements BEFORE sitting for the exam, including those practicing in the states
listed above.
Although not every Board of Nursing has the statutory authority
to establish or approve an advanced practice category, we are continuing to monitor
legislation in those states. Pressure from managed care groups, reimbursement issues,
and the desire to conform to the same practices as neighboring states all seem to
have had some degree of effect on the move toward the regulation of advanced practice.
Look for future updates, and please feel free to let us know of any new advanced
practice activities in your home states.
|
CCNS Exam |
|
|
AACN Members |
$245 |
|
Nonmembers |
$345 |
|
CCNS Exam Retest or Renewal by Exam |
|
|
AACN Members |
$200 |
|
Nonmembers |
$305 |
Payable in U.S. Funds. Fees are subject to change without
notice. A $15 fee will be charged for returned checks.
If joining at the time of application, you may pay the $78 annual AACN membership
fee and member exam fee of $325. Refer to the CCNS Exam application found in the
CCNS Exam Handbook for multi-year membership discount rates.
All of the information included in the
Certification Exam Handbook
may be found on this Web site. However, if you would rather see the handbook in
print, it can be viewed and printed using Acrobat Reader, below, and is also available
by e-mail. Click on Contact Us above and request a copy via e-mail. Please indicate
the document you are requesting. If you do not yet have Acrobat Reader, you may
install it by clicking on the icon below.
Applicants must hold current, unencumbered
RN or APRN licensure in the United States. In order
to meet the RN licensure requirement for initial CCNS certification and recertification,
an individual nurse's RN license must be unencumbered. This means than an RN license,
issued by a state board of nursing, must not have provisions or conditions that
would limit the nurse's practice in any way. It is the responsibility of the exam
applicant or CCNS certified nurse to notify the AACN Certification Corporation when
any restriction is placed on his / her RN license. AACN Certification Corporation
requires candidates to submit a photocopy of their current,
valid RN or APRN license with all applications for initial examination
and renewal of the CCNS credential. If the photocopy is not included, AACN Certification
Corporation will need to send a letter to you requesting the copy, which will delay
the processing of your application.
Active involvement in the care of acutely-ill or critically-ill
patients, as a CNS, for a minimum of 2,000 hours over the last four years, with
a minimum of 400 hours in the 12 months preceding renewal, in the United States.
Eligible clinical practice hours for AACN Certification Corporation
examinations or certification renewal are those completed in facilities that are
U.S.-based or Canada-based, or in facilities determined to be comparable to the
U.S. standard of acute/critical care nursing practice, as evidenced by
ANCC Magnet Status
or
Joint Commission International accreditation..
Complete the Recertification by CE program requirements of
60 Category A CEs, with at least 15 CEs within the Acute and Critical Care Educational
Program area.
OR
Retake and pass the CCNS certification examination.
Verification of eligibility is not required; however the name
and address of a director or coworker who can verify the requirements must be given.
If you are randomly selected for audit, this associate will be contacted to verify
that you have met the eligibility requirements. The director or colleague need not
be CCNS-certified.
AACN Certification Corporation may adopt additional eligibility
requirements at its sole discretion from time to time. Any such requirements will
be designed to establish, for the purposes of CCNS certification, the adequacy of
a candidate's knowledge and experience in caring for the acutely and critically
ill.
During the four-year certification period, CCNS renewal candidates
wishing to renew by CE must complete sixty (60) CCNS Category A CEs, fifteen (15)
of which must be within the Acute and Critical Care Educational Program area.
CCNS CATEGORY A CE
I. Acute and Critical Care Educational
Programs
At least 15 of the 60 required CEs must be in this category.
This category encompasses acute and critical care programs
granting contact hours or CE. These programs must address subjects that have direct
application to the needs of the acute and critically ill patient or family.
Acceptable programs must possess one of the following characteristics:
- Have direct application to meeting the needs of the acute or critically ill patient
or patient's family across the healthcare continuum.
- Address clinical knowledge, skills and abilities utilized by acute or critical-care
CNSs.
- Have impact on assessment data.
These programs need NOT be approved by the American Association
of Critical-Care Nurses and may be offered by hospitals, professional associations,
or independent educational groups. Home study or self-study programs from professional
journals and other sources that grant contact hours apply to Category A. If a course
is taken for academic credit, but is specific to patient care, CE can be awarded
in Category A. Examples include:
- Physical assessment
- Anatomy/physiology/pathophysiology
- Diagnostic tests used in critical care settings (e.g., ABG interpretation, cardiac
angiography, x-ray and lab interpretation)
- Concerns regarding the environment in critical care area (e.g., infection control)
- Psychological or behavioral responses of the patient and family (e.g., sensory deprivation,
patient teaching, nursing diagnosis)
- Issues pertaining to the patient care environment (e.g., ethical and legal issues)
- Therapies, interventions or knowledge vital to patient management (e.g., fluid dynamics,
BLS, ACLS, PALS, ECG interpretation, nutritional support, pain management, IV therapy,
pharmacology)
- Core review / exam review programs
II. Optional Activities for CCNS Category
A CE - PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS
Encompasses professional nursing publication. The CCNS's responsibility
in the publication may be authorship, co-authorship, or editorial related to acute
and/or critical care content. The item to be published may be a book, chapter in
a book, paper, article, abstract, book review, etc. The item may be published in
a book, journal, professional organization's national or local newsletter, etc.
Professionally authored multimedia aids are acceptable.
Number of CEs Awarded
|
Editorial in a journal |
5 |
|
Writing a pamphlet |
5 |
|
Original research article |
15
|
|
Textbook editor |
15 |
|
Chapter in a book |
15 |
|
Professionally authored multimedia aids |
15
|
|
Research abstract |
2
|
|
Authored textbook (less than 300 pages) |
30
|
|
Authored textbook (more than 300 pages) |
60 |
|
Journal article |
10 |
|
Journal reviewer (review of articles or book chapters) |
3 |
|
Book review |
5 |
|
Doctoral dissertation |
45 |
CEs for joint authorships are determined by dividing the number
of CEs to be awarded by the number of authors.
CCNSs wishing to renew by exam must apply for, take and pass
the CCNS exam before the expiration date of their credential. Candidates must complete
the CCNS Exam Application and submit it along with
a photocopy of their current, valid RN or APRN license. To request a
Certification Exam Handbook
and Application, call 800-899-2226, e-mail certcorp@aacn.org, or visit our Web site
at www.certcorp.org. The handbook contains information regarding registration,
scheduling and rescheduling, overseas testing, computer-based testing, suggested
study references and other information necessary in order to renew by exam.
AACN Certification Corporation will notify our testing service
Applied Measurement Professionals, Inc. (AMP), of eligible candidates; AMP will
send an e-mail and a confirmation postcard containing a toll-free number and Web
address, for those who prefer to register on line, to each eligible candidate to
schedule the examination. Candidates should call to schedule an examination directly after receiving their confirmation postcard
from AMP to obtain an appointment and testing location of their choice. Candidates
may sit for the examination at their chosen location within
the 90-day eligibility period printed on the confirmation postcard.
|
Renewal by CE |
|
|
AACN Members |
$180 |
|
Nonmembers |
$260 |
|
Renewal by Computer-Based Exam |
|
|
AACN Members |
$200 |
|
Nonmembers |
$280 |
Payable in U.S. Funds. Fees are
subject to change without notice. A $15 fee will be charged for returned checks.
If joining at the time of application, you may pay the $78
annual AACN membership fee and member renewal fee of $180 or $200. Refer to the
CCNS Renewal application found in the CCNS Renewal Handbook for multi-year membership
discount rates.
A copy of the complete
CCNS Renewal Handbook
is mailed to each renewing CCNS approximately 120 days prior to their renewal date.
This handbook can be viewed and printed using Acrobat Reader, below. This handbook
can also be sent to you via e-mail; click on the Contact Us button at the top of
this page and request a copy to be sent as a Word (.doc) attachment or as a Rich
Text Format (.rtf) file. Please indicate the document you need and the format in
which you would like it sent. If you do not yet have Acrobat Reader, you may install
it by clicking on the icon below.