certifications for BSN new grads: BCLS, ACLS, BART..etc

NicuGal, MSN, RN · Sep 6, 2013

You need to see which of those require having worked so many hours in the field of certification. You should have BLS from school. The others, honestly, your job should be incorporating those into orientation. Our hospital doesn't care if you have the certs, especially was a new grad. You have to know what to with the info.

I'm glad you are all into this :) but do a bit of research before you jump in and spend oodles of money.

Irishlass79 · Sep 6, 2013

I disagree, I think certifications are great to get. I think there are a few rather cheap ones that set you apart from another candidate in an interview. I think it shows a commitment to your field and education. I would just get certified in ACLS, BLS and possibly PALS if your hospital works with children. The poster is correct in that any major medical institution pays for certifications but it is the commitment to education HR respects. Generally speaking on a medical surgical unit ACLS is not required, you will most likely never fully use the knowledge because most hospitals have code teams where that cart is only cracked open by the pharmacy during a code and the ICU nurse on call is there to push everything. But it is great to know what to anticipate because floor nurses become the go fetch nurses often grabbing bags, tubing, vials etc. I would not get focused certifications, most require hours and they are very pricey, I agree there with that opinion. When I graduated I remember I took an excellent IV certification course, I knew I did not need certification as it is in my scope of practice but it taught me GREAT tips for insertion and even better tips for documenting to avoid lawsuits etc. It is a really tough market right now for new grads but you will get there, just keep your eye on the ball and always take an opportunity to learn because not a single nurse knows everything. The nurses that think they know everything are dangerous so it is not about certifications it is about humbling yourself and knowing you are always going to be learning.

thatsthekeyRNC · Sep 7, 2013

I would look around at jobs you would want and see if they require any of these certifications and those would be the first to pursue! For instance, my job REQUIRED NRP before interviewing. Some positions include the training in orientation, but hospitals can be picky now :-/. I also have ACLS and PALS because I wanted to be able to market myself in other areas if necessary, but they do not apply to my position now. Great learning experiences, but I will probably not be renewing them.

EKG and pharmacology cert is great to do before ACLS, I would not have been able to participate without it. If you want to do SOMETHING, I would say ACLS.

HeartNursing3 · Sep 9, 2013

Having tried to teach myself ECG rhythms in preparation for ACLS before getting a job... I'd say wait. My job put me through a 3-day ECG class and it made so much sense after. Now having worked 6 months and been through numerous codes and working on a tele floor... it just simply made sense during ACLS.

You can show a commitment to education without getting random certs, IMO. My hospital is a large academic medical institution and they discourage getting anything but BLS without experience... at least orientation and the ECG class.

SNB1014, RN · Sep 9, 2013

oh Goodness, calm down graduate nurse :-)

the best thing that appears on your resume is an nursing intern/externship/tech position when applying for your first job

things such as SANE and PICC are only available after experience (aka professional hours) with said population.

also, there is no need to get a "basic arrhythmia" cert if you will get your ACLS, you know?

TNCC is only useful for ER/trauma icu RNs, to be honest.

BLS, ACLS and NIHSS are required for my unit, which is PCU.

the only thing i caution about being "certified" is this: you are now responsible for upholding and demonstrating said knowledge.

my manager said when she looks at new grads with a billion random, not well known, unnecessary certs, she sees a high school kid who is "active" in about 13 organizations in order to get volunteer hrs for college admissions.....its all for show.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2013

1) BCLS: Basic Life Support for the Healthcare Provider (AHA)

Yes

2) ACLS: Advanced Cardiac Life Support (AHA)

If you can afford it

3) PALS: Pediatric Advanced Life Support (AHA)

If you can afford it

4) BART: Basic Arrhythmia Recognition & Treatment

ACLS makes this redundant

5) Heartsaver CPR,First Aid, AED (AHA)

No, this is for lay personnel, not health care providers

6) Advanced First Aid, CPR & AED certification: National Safety Council (NSC)

No, this is for lay personnel, not health care providers

7) First Aid Web Inc & National Health & Safety Foundation: Basic First Aid

No, this is for lay personnel, not health care providers

8) MABPRO: Management of Assaultive Behavior

No

9) TNCC: Trauma Nurse Core Course

No

10) SANE: Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

You can't get this as a new grad IIRC as there's a clinical and experience component

15) EKG & Pharmacology (AHA)

You get this in ACLS

I'd do BCLS for sure (didn't you need this for nursing school?) as most employers will require it prior to you starting. ACLS if you can afford it and PALS if you can afford it and plan to work peds. After that, if you just start getting certifications left and right and lower ones designed for non-health care providers and overlapping certifications, it starts to look like you aren't doing research in to the value of the certifications, which is not something you want to communicate to potential employers.

Quality, not quantity.