ACNP certification

[stevengoodman]

There are two agents providing ACNP Certification: the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). I wonder what is the difference between the two agents. Do we have any specialty certification for a nurse practitioner who is working in the ICU?

Thanks

[djmatte, ADN, MSN, RN, NP]

4 hours ago, stevengoodman said:

There are two agents providing ACNP Certification: the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). I wonder what is the difference between the two agents. Do we have any specialty certification for a nurse practitioner who is working in the ICU?

Thanks

“Have to” is dependent on the rules of your state and the preferences of the hospital. For legal reasons, it’s highly encouraged as training in other specialties is not considered adequate by most.

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

It's unfortunately part of the nature of NP certification in some cases. FNP's have 2 options as well - certify with ANCC or AANP, PNP-PC's can certify with ANCC or PNCB, and ACNP's can certify with ANCC or AACN. So many letters, so much confusion.

As far as your question, ANCC and AACN have different test blueprints but it's all semantics because the end product is the same. You earn different certification letters though, which again, adds to the confusion. Both exams are recognized in all 50 states now. It's just a matter of choosing which "flavor" you prefer.

There is no such certification available for Critical Care NP's because there isn't really a dedicated Critical Care NP program based on the Consensus Model. Some programs may say that they can offer an "Intensivist" focus but the over-all training must still cover all the didactic elements required in both the ANCC and AACN test blueprint for ACNP's.