Is AANAC certification worth it?

Specialties MDS

Published

Specializes in LTC, MDS, ER.

I've been working with an MDS Coordinator on a skilled 32 bed transitional care unit with a high turnover for the last 4 months. We did over a 100 MDS's last month alone. I love this position and can see myself doing this for a while. I recently paid the $110 yearly dues to join AANAC and am considering completing the courses to become certified. I won't get a raise or anything, but I'm a fairly new RN (2 years experience as a LTC LPN, 1 year as LTC RN) and think this might help me learn this position more in depth.

Anyone else complete this certification? Did it help you down the road after you finished? I would love to hear your feedback!! :)

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Specializes in MDS/ UR.

I found certification beneficial from the stand point that many places look for it as part of your qualification in your professional package.

I would recommend joining the daily newsletter/server list through connect. You get alot of good insight there.

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

I have been a member for three years and I am certified through AANAC. I have never regretted it.

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Specializes in long term care - MDS.

AANAC is great for recogniton, networking, new information and CEUs required. They post positions online and send you offers by mail. I just got recertified for 3.0 last fall and took online classes. I wish I had purchased the modules for printout or manuals, but with all the changes it probably doesn't make sense. I say go for it. You can do a module or two at a time when you have the inclanation. It also clarifies some things better for me and it's at your own pace. Good luck! sps (posted previously, but just as pertinant) we need you.

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Specializes in gerontology.

Your facility should have the means to be paying for your membership to AANAC AND sending you through the certification program. It has paid for itself over and over and the information they provide to keep up with the CMS revisions, etc. has been outstanding. I am on their website all the time to keep abreast . Do this, but do ask your facility to compensate you for the cost!

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I am currently working on my certification and am learning alot but there are problems with the courses. Specificaly, some of the information in the modules is outdated. Things changed last October 2011 and some of the info they give you dates back to 2010(medicare...)

When I emailed and ask them about the outdated info I recieved a very curt answer stating I was wrong and even if it was outdated I would have to pay to get the updated info. I was stunned by the attitude of their response.

I emailed back and offered to send them the specifics on what is outdated. Later I recieved two emails from AANAC (one from the rude person). I didn't even open the mails. I deleted them.

It doesn't matter. Purchasing the info from them is more of a formality than anything because all the info they sell you is contained in the current MDS manual which anyone can purchase for less than $100. Basicaly you are paying for the cert. to put after your name.

All this said, I do feel I am learning from their study guides. As an MDS Coordinator I am in the RAI manual all the time and am able to find the current info. Their guides do break it down for you though.

I am just super dissapointed in their attitude and am not a fan of AANAC. If another organization comes out with a more recognized certification, I will drop AANAC in a heartbeat.

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wannabe2008, I am sorry to hear about your experience AANAC. This email takes a tangent based on something you said.

You do not have to purchase the RAI Manual. It available for free on the CMS website, although I'm sure you already know that. I do not even bother printing the manual any more - I keep the RAI manual PDFs in a folder on my computer. You can have the manual PDFs on your desktop, or in a folder on your desktop, for easy access. The nice thing about PDFs is that you can search them (Edit > Find, or Ctrl-F for Windows users).

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I am happy to say I don't have to print the manual out because my company buys the hard copy and we get updates for it as needed. The manual comes on a CD also.(the cd comes with the hard copy) That said, I will go back online to the manual and play with it a little. It sounds like I missed something because I don't remember being able to do the cool things you described. Thanks for the info.

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So today I brought the CD version of the manual home and I am pretty impressed. You also are able to search on it just like online. I did a search on Start Of Therapy just as a test and was really suprised how well it works!! Searching on the computer with only having to put in a word or words is alot faster and easier than the hard copy manual.Thanks for the great info in your post. Just made my life alot easier.

wannabe2008, I am sorry to hear about your experience AANAC. This email takes a tangent based on something you said.

You do not have to purchase the RAI Manual. It available for free on the CMS website, although I'm sure you already know that. I do not even bother printing the manual any more - I keep the RAI manual PDFs in a folder on my computer. You can have the manual PDFs on your desktop, or in a folder on your desktop, for easy access. The nice thing about PDFs is that you can search them (Edit > Find, or Ctrl-F for Windows users).

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Specializes in Trauma, Med/surg, CM, UM,.

Fortunately my MDS 3.0 program has a built in RAI manual that you can open and search the same way anytime while doing assessmets etc. It is kind of cool in that it will open to the section on the Manual that corosponds to the section of the MDS assessment you are working on. One day when I have enough time I am going to read the whole user guide on the MDS program from the provider to see what else it has. I was not fortunate enough to get any training on that before or when starting my position. The CD sounds cool, like it does pretty much the same thing. Yay for 'easy'!

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I am currently taking my finals and I have failed the Medicare part twice!!! I made a 100 on the care plan test but I don't know where to look for the answers for the Medicare test and I only have one more chance to pass it!!! Can you please advise??? I made 70% the first time and 65% the second time. Thanks so much!!!

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I feel you. I passed Medicare , but I can't pass the 5 star . Did you pass it?

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