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Discussion

Certification a must

I had recently gone to an open interview, hoping to get into a better hospital. I have 4 years experience, total, was out 4 years to raise my little kids, and have been back to nursing, per diem for the past year.

It's rough out there! There were so many candidates in the auditorium. I work in Progressive Care now, with cardiac focus. I'm not in love with it, and wish I could move to another unit. Anyway, this interview was a rude awakening. It seems it's not enough to just have an RN at the end of your name anymore. They wanted to know if I was certified in oncology, or med-surg.

I am back in school online with a BSN degree as the main goal. Looks like after this, I'll need to certify myself somewhere. But from what I have seen, I can't even get into oncology if I wasn't certified. But get this, I can't get into the certification program unless I have oncology experience. So, I need a key to get in, but the key in inside?

Has anyone experienced anything like this?

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    • Featured Replies

    I am a NG, but yes, I see it everywhere as "preferred" in onc jobs.

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    an idea to the OP

    get certifed and take the PCCN, and you could put the title after the like so.... RN, PCCN....it may help. it shows that you are comitted to excellence in progressive care-a lot of the content is cardiac. or become board certified as a cardiac vascular nurse. which would give you the title RN-BC. i would do either or, but not both. its not cheap. well best of luck !

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    I have my board certification, and it's true that you need a certain number of hours of practice in the field before even applying to take the exam. Like the previous poster stated, you can get certified in your area of specialty now (if you have enough hours, with working PRN you may not) and that may get you in the door, at least. Check out the ANCC website to see what you can do.

    Good luck!

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    Employers ask if you're certified and may prefer to hire people who are certified. That doesn't mean they won't hire those who are uncertified. They do like to hire recent graduates so they can be "taught the facility's way of doing things," and new graduates cost less, hourly.

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    • Expert

    As the OP said in the OP, they asked if she were certified in either or oncology or med/surg. They are not insisting on an oncology certification, which no one can get until they have oncology experience. But they are giving a hiring preference to experienced nursing who are certified in a relevant specialty (med/surg included). We all have to realize that in a competitive market, employers will raise their requirements as a way of choosing who to hire.

    I avoided certification for many years because I didn't see a need for it for my career. But recently, I began seeing that it was becoming increasingly valued as a credential. So, I took the test and got my certification. We all need to upgrade our credentials periodically. "Life-long learning" is the minimal expectation now, not just the ideal.

    llg, PhD, RN-BC

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    • Expert

    The first time I was curious about certification criteria, I looked several of them up and saw that one of the requirements for certification is experience in the area of certification. Same concept as "we can't hire you without you being experienced" when you can't get experience because no one will hire you. Worked when I first looked for work when I was 16, and works now in all kinds of situations.

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