Certifications in the ED

What certifications are needed/desired in the ED?

This is a question that comes up often. I work as an APN in a community hospital ED and we were discussing this last night. All of the ED RNs are required to have BLS, ACLS and a peds certification. Trauma certification, i.e., TNCC or TNS (Trauma Nurse Specialist – an IL-only certification) is preferred and CEN is icing on the cake. However, when I was discussing these certs with the nurses, the issue was that since there was no additional pay or benefits to additional certifications, that most preferred to do the minimum required.

However, should we be doing the minimum to get by? Shouldn’t we, as professionals, strive continuously to a higher standard? I know that when I was a new ED nurse, I wanted all the alphabet soup I could get – lol – I did learn better though! My personal opinion is that BLS, ACLS, a peds cert and a trauma cert should be mandatory.

CEN however, is not to be overlooked. It is a national certification that proves basic competency as an ED RN. EDs should reimburse for the test and study materials as well as pay at least $1.00/hour extra for those that choose to go the extra mile.