ANCC certification - does good, or just looks good?

I carried ANCC Psychiatric Nurse certification for five years. To be truthful I found it pretty useless. One potential employer - who did not offer me a job - saw it on my resume, commented on it and said "that's nice". Virtually no employers give extra pay for ANCC certification, or even pay for the test. It is of more benefit to the employer, who can say that they have certified nurses on staff. The requirements for renewal are a pain as well. When it came time for renewal I decided that I had better things to do with my money.

If you want it for the professional satisfaction, by all means do it. If you are counting on it to help you professionally, don't bother.

I agree with the previous poster. I got my ANCC certification as a personal goal, but it never made a bit of difference in pay or anything else. Luckily my employer paid for it, as well as renewal fees. I wouldn't have paid the over-300 dollars fee myself, nor the same fee to renew. Bear in mind that if your employer will pay for the certification, you have to take an awesome test, and some employers won't pay if you fail the test.

I believe hospitals have to have certified nurses in order to have "Magnet" status. I could be wrong, but it's to their benefit if that's the case. Just don't expect it to matter on the job.

An exception is if you're an advanced practice nurse. Then you have to be certified in order to prescribe (at least in Indiana).

I thought that the test was worse than the nursing board exam. Some of the questions they asked seemed more appropriate for a Ph. D. psychologist or therapist. Some of the issues they asked about were outside the scope of practice of an RN, IMO.

We are magnet facility and it is required to move up the clinical ladder (and increase pay).

I work in the big apple.
My union contract
provides a salary increase
for ANCC certification.

I believe
any credential
ABOVE YOUR ENTRY LEVEL PRACTICE RN LICENSE
makes a statement
"on-paper" of
your professional interest
to increase your knowledge base.

FYI, I am a previous
ANCC Psych-Mental Health Nurse (Generalist)
Test Review Board Member.
The questions are written and approved
by direct patient care RNs.
The guidelines require
that one---yes only one--RN
have a Masters degree and is
in a faculty position.
There are 6 - 8 members
from all over the United States.

I would pursue ANCC certification
with or without pay increase
because MY standard for practice
is
TO BE ABOVE THE MINIMUM STANDARD FOR PRACTICE---

THAT'S IN ANY PROFESSION---NURSING OR SHOWBIZ!!!

Hey, but that's just me.