How Can I become Stroke Nurse Certified?

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  1. This is a discussion on How Can I become Stroke Nurse Certified? in General Nursing Discussion, part of General Nursing ... A recent experience that I had with a stroke patient has sparked a fire within me! :redbeathe I...

    by Sep 17, '11
    A recent experience that I had with a stroke patient has sparked a fire within me! I think my calling is stroke nursing....Questions tho....1) Do I have to get my masters in this specialty....2)How can I become stroke certified....Thanx any information is better than nothing?
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    by RNdiva505 Sep 17, '11 9:36 pm
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  2. 6 Comments so far...

  3. Sep 17, '11 by
    I have never heard of a stroke nurse certification (I have heard of hospitals becoming stoke centers) and I have no idea what you would get a master's in to specialize in that area. Maybe neuro ANP, ACNP or something in rehab.
  4. Sep 17, '11 by
    I don't think I've heard of stroke certification for nurses, though there is a neuro certification (the CNRN). What you may want to look into in the long run, though, is becoming a stroke coordinator. I work for two different health systems that both have stroke centers and use stroke coordinators to help maintain this certification. In the hospitals where I work, the stroke coordinator is responsible for tracking the hospitals' compliance with the stroke core measures through staff education, auditing, conducting mutidisciplinary stroke rounds on the designated stroke units, etc. They also respond to all "stroke alerts" and track patients who're recieved tPA, surgery, or radiological intervention throughout their hospital stay.

    These positions do usually require at least a couple years of solid stroke experience, though. I know about 4-5 coordinators and only 1 of them has a master's and she had that before she took that position.
  5. Sep 18, '11 by
    The American Heart Association has a free course (I believe it is still free) and CEUs to be certified in the NIH Stroke Scale. I really enjoyed the course.
    Teaching hospitals/Trauma I Hospitals tend to have more opportunities for strokes (Neuro ICU, Neuro Rehab, nurse educator, and coordinator positions)
    ChicagoICUNurse likes this.
  6. Sep 18, '11 by
    Quote from deathisastar13
    The American Heart Association has a free course (I believe it is still free) and CEUs to be certified in the NIH Stroke Scale. I really enjoyed the course.
    Teaching hospitals/Trauma I Hospitals tend to have more opportunities for strokes (Neuro ICU, Neuro Rehab, nurse educator, and coordinator positions)

    THANK YOU!
  7. Sep 19, '11 by
    We are a stroke center and on my floor we all have to be certified in stroke education and protocol. Like the post above said the AHA has the course.
  8. Sep 19, '11 by
    The CNRN covers all aspects of neurological nursing, not just stroke. You can take the NIH Stroke Scale cetification online for free through the American Heart Association.