PCCN--is it worth it?

Specialties Cardiac

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Specializes in Step-down, cardiac.

Is getting a Progressive Care certification worth it? If you have one, did it help your career at all? I'm a relatively new nurse on a Step Down unit; I've been an RN for a year, so I'm just now qualified to get certified. My hospital just had a round of layoffs, and then our unit had a huge number of nurses leave due to the layoffs and management craziness, so there's room for new charge nurses, but I'd have to pay for the test myself. Until a few months ago, they paid for it, but now that our budget has been slashed, we have to pay for it ourselves if we take the test. Should I bother?

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

Think of it as a form of continuing education. I feel as if certified nurses have patients with better outcomes because they have demonstrated proficiency in their specialty and therefore are more vigilant.

The pay incentive is nice, too, lol. Where I work, becoming certified was my choice. As I know, I'm the only PCCN at my hospital. We have a few CCRNs. I had to pay for the exam with my own money. Was it worth it? I think so. I have since moved on to the ER but having my certification is very handy in that department.

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I am studying for the exam. Our hospital will reimburse. I think it is worth it. Just the studying had helped me refresh an delve deeper an apply more to my practice. If you join aacn you can get an exam discount and free ceus.

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I'm on the fence about the PCCN. The hospital gives me no pay incentive to pursue the PCCN.

My mom tells me to challenge the CCRN but I have no intensive care experience at all, I'm just a nurse stuck on a tele floor.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.
I'm on the fence about the PCCN. The hospital gives me no pay incentive to pursue the PCCN.

My mom tells me to challenge the CCRN but I have no intensive care experience at all, I'm just a nurse stuck on a tele floor.

You are not qualified to take the CCRN working on a tele floor. The CCRN includes a lot of invasive hemodynamics whereas the PCCN includes non-invasive hemodynamics. By working on a tele floor, you probably don't have the experience working with swans/art lines, CVPs, PAWPs, etc. Folks who take the CCRN work in ICUs, sometimes ER.

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