Med/Surg Certification - which one to get?

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Hi all! I am a med/surg nurse with 6 years of experience, 3 as an LPN and 3 as an RN. I have been wanting to get med/surg certified for awhile, but just recently starting researching what all I have to do to be eligible to take the exam. I then discovered there are 2 types of certifications in med/surg - RN-BC (which I know 2 coworkers that have that cert) and CMSRN. I am a member of the AMSN, so getting the CMSRN would be a lot cheaper for me than the RN-BC. But I have not seen anyone have this certification where I work, and I can't really find much about getting one versus the other. If you are certified, I would like to know which one you have and why you picked that one. I work for a hospital system that is going for magnet status, but we still have 1-2 years before we actually try to get it, if this makes any difference in what I should do. Thanks in advance!:typing

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Specializes in med surg.

I am an AMSN member and am CMSRN, I am not really sure what the difference is but know that any certification you obtain is a plus.

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I have my CMSRN, which I chose because I have an associate degree. The ANA certification (RNC) requires a bachelor's degree or higher. Since many nurses at my hospital received diplomas from the hospital program, they also can take the CMSRN test. My hospital has had several information sessions and classes for the CMSRN, so even the BSN prepared nurses I know generally have taken the CMSRN vs. ANA test. We are a magnet hospital. I am not an AMSN member.

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Specializes in Home Health.
I have my CMSRN, which I chose because I have an associate degree. The ANA certification (RNC) requires a bachelor's degree or higher. Since many nurses at my hospital received diplomas from the hospital program, they also can take the CMSRN test. My hospital has had several information sessions and classes for the CMSRN, so even the BSN prepared nurses I know generally have taken the CMSRN vs. ANA test. We are a magnet hospital. I am not an AMSN member.

I dont think this is true. There is a RN at work who has RNC and she is a diploma nurse. She doesn't even have an ADN. :shrug: Anyway, I have been wondering which to obtain as well. I hope this thread gives some good advice!

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http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Eligibility/MedicalSurgicalCriteria.aspx

http://www.nursecredentialing.org/NurseSpecialties/MedicalSurgical.aspx

http://www.medsurgnurse.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/AMSNMain.woa/1/wa/viewSection?s_id=1073744070&wosid=8YtmorRrdqYh21f7dYK8CW8iYGo

I was wrong, I apologize...

It still seems to me that the ANA exam was only for BSN prepared nurses, at the time I took the exam (2005 or 06).... I believe that was the major clincher for why I chose AMSN.... either they changed it or I was wrong. Sorry.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I'm certified throught the ANCC Med-Surg.

Many of their speciality certifications require a BSN, but not Med Surg. I was not a BSN when I received this certification.

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[h=1]CMSRN® and RN-BC: What's the Difference?[/h]http://www.msncb.org/compare

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

We were given a choice, either ANCC or CMSRN. I chose the latter as my employer paid for the certification study class, lol.

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