The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association (ANA), is a

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

body for

nursing board certification Nursing credentials and certifications are the various credentials and certifications that a person must have to practice nursing legally. Nurses' postnominal letters (abbreviations listed after the name) reflect their credentials—that is, their ...

and the largest certification body for advanced practice registered nurses in the United States, certifying over 75,000 APRNs, including

nurse practitioner A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse and a type of mid-level practitioner. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, formulate and prescribe ...

s and

clinical nurse specialist A clinical nurse specialist (CNS) is an advanced practice nurse who can provide advice related to specific conditions or treatment pathways. According to the International Council of Nurses (ICN), an Advanced Practice Nurse is a registered nurse w ...

s. ANCC's nursing board certification program is one of the oldest in the USA, and many of its certifications were established before 1980, when nursing certification was still in early developmental stages.

History

In 1966 The American Nursing Association amended its bylaws to allow the creation of certification boards for nurses in various areas of practice. Two years later, the ANC's Nursing Practice Department published a paper promoting certification standards. From the ideas presented in this paper, the Congress for Nursing Practice drafted guidelines for the certification process in 1969. Within a few years, several nursing practice divisions had drafted certification processes based upon these guidelines. In 1973 the ANA announced a national certification program for nursing practice. By 1974 the first certification examinations were administered. Over the following 17 years the ANA continued to expand its nursing credentialing exams to cover more areas of practice and administration. The ANA decided in 1990 to create the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a subsidiary nonprofit corporation through which it would sell its certification services and exams. In 1999 the ANCC created an international branch of the organization in order to provide its services outside of the United States. Primary Accreditation Established in 1974, Primary Accreditation recognizes organizations (or components of organizations) that offer continuing education for nurses. This accreditation contributes to health care quality and professional nursing practice by defining standards for the development and delivery of continuing education and by providing a voluntary peer review process to assure compliance.

Services

Other services of the ANCC include an

Accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

Program for nursing

continuing education Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. ...

providers and approvers, and the

Magnet Recognition Program The Magnet Recognition Program is a recognition program operated by the American Nurses Credentialing Center that allows nurses to recognize nursing excellence in other nurses. It is considered the highest recognition for nursing excellence. The pr ...

, which rates medical institutions for their

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

excellence. The ANCC also runs the

Pathway to Excellence Pathway or pathways may refer to: Entertainment * ''The Pathway'' (novel), a 1914 work by Gertrude Page *''The Pathway'', a 2001 album by Officium Triste * ''Pathway'' (album), by the Flaming Stars * ''Pathways'' (album) (2010), by the Dave Hol ...

program to help hospitals improve their working environment for nurses. In 1998 the ANCC created the Institute for Research, Education, and Consultation (IREC) which provides the following services:

Certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

, and

Certification-related products and services

# Live review seminars # National study groups # Web-based e-learning # Certification review manuals # Web-based practice questions and answers

Magnet recognition program-related products and services

# Annual National Magnet Conference # Magnet workshops # Consulting services # Web-based e-learning

Pathway to Excellence program-related products and services

# Pathway workshops # Consulting services # Web-based e-learning

Accreditation program-related products and services

# Annual Accreditation Symposium # Consulting services

Certification exams

ANCC offers certification programs in 29 nursing specialties: *

Ambulatory care nursing Ambulatory care nursing is the nursing care of patients who receive treatment on an outpatient basis, ie they do not require admission to a hospital for an overnight stay. Ambulatory care includes those clinical, organizational and professional acti ...

* Cardiac vascular nursing * Gerontological nursing * Informatics nursing *

Medical-surgical nursing Medical-surgical nursing is a nursing specialty area concerned with the care of adult patients in a broad range of settings. The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) is a specialty nursing organization dedicated to nurturing medical-surgical ...

* Nurse Executive (formerly Nursing Administration) * Nursing Case Management * Nursing Professional Development *

Pain Management Pain management is an aspect of medicine and health care involving relief of pain (pain relief, analgesia, pain control) in various dimensions, from acute and simple to chronic and challenging. Most physicians and other health professionals pr ...

Pediatric nursing Pediatric nursing is part of the nursing profession, specifically revolving around the care of neonates and children up to adolescence. The word, ''pediatrics'', comes from the Greek words 'paedia' (child) and 'iatrike' (physician). 'Paediatrics' i ...

Psychiatric and mental health nursing Psychiatric nursing or mental health nursing is the appointed position of a nurse that specialises in mental health, and cares for people of all ages experiencing mental illnesses or distress. These include: neurodevelopmental disorders, schizoph ...

* Public Health Nursing - Advanced * Acute Care Nurse Practitioner *

Adult Nurse Practitioner An adult-gerontology nurse practitioner (AGNP) is a nurse practitioner that specializes in continuing and comprehensive healthcare for adults across the lifespan from adolescence to old age. Education and board certification Following educationa ...

* Adult Psychiatric & Mental Health Nurse Practitioner * Family Nurse Practitioner * Family Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner *

Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek , ''geron'', "old man" and , ''-logia'', "study of". The ...

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner A pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) is a nurse practitioner who specializes in care for newborns, infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers, school-aged children, adolescents, and young adults. Nurse practitioners have an in-depth knowledge and experie ...

( ANCC no longer offers this certification) * Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist * Adult Psychiatric and Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist * Child/Adolescent Psychiatric and Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist * Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist * Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist * Advanced Practice Adult Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing * Nurse Executive, Advanced (formerly Nursing Administration, Advanced)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Credentialing Center Healthcare accreditation organizations in the United States Nursing organizations in the United States Medical and health organizations based in Maryland 1991 establishments in the United States