Certifications: HOW?

[StillSliding]

What a catch 22. I am a new grad that has not landed the first Hospital job yet. I would like to make myself more attractive to hospitals HR hiring process and obtain a few certifications. The problem I have is understanding Legitiment courses and the verification process. Are these certifications on a registry?Am I able to check your certifications for validity? Is a hospital HR department able to verify mine? I see advertised on-line ACLS, PALS courses that DO NOT require a physical lab check off. Are these courses legitiment? It seems like official courses are sponsored by the hospital training unit. However, I do not see a governing body that keeps track and registers a name and assigns an "official" card. Anyone can say they took a class and present a certificate, "just call Cliffy's number on this paper, he will vouch for me"

Is there a way to obtain legitiment certifications with out being employed by a hospital? As long as I am unemployed I would like to take telemetry and CCRN, ACLS, PALS.

[hikernurse]

Some certifications such as CCRN require work experience first.

I would imagine that "no pass off" classes are not considered as legitimate. Hospitals in my area only accept American Heart Association certification. They offer on-line tests that you can take, print off and bring to your pass-offs to save class time. My PALS certification was almost ALL pass-offs with one written test. It's a great program, though.

If you are a new grad, they won't expect you to have a lot of certifications; any that will be required should be taken care of by the hospital. Have you given any thought to volunteering? That looks good on a resume.

Good luck. It's frustrating trying to find a job these day. Best to you!

[JeanettePNP, MSN, RN, NP]

I took ACLS, PALS and IV certification privately. It may or may not boost your resume; you may end up working in a job that doesn't demand these certifications, or they will train you in it yourself. Either way you'll be out your money. Still, I don't regret doing it, because it was a way of keeping my skills sharp and learning new ones despite being an unemployed new grad.