PCCN certification - Should I expect a pay differential?

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Nurse Beth,

I just completed my PCCN certification and have not been offered any compensation for earning this certification... what would be a fair pay increase to ask for this new certification? I am only 1 of 2 nurses certified. I cannot find any postings about this topic.

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Dear PCCN Certified,

Congratulations on your board certification! That is quite an accomplishment that took studying and testing on your part. It's above and beyond your job requirements, and shows initiative and professional development. Not to mention clinical expertise in your area.

Here's what the American Nursing Credentialing Center says about certification:

Nurse Certification Benefits Patients, Employers and Nurses. Nurses validate their mastery of skills, knowledge and abilities through certification and meet ongoing learning and practice requirements through recertification. Patients and families, employers and nurses all benefit from certification.

• Nurse Certification Benefits Patients and Families - Certification provides patients and their families with validation that the nurse caring for them has demonstrated experience, knowledge and skills in the complex specialty of critical care.
  
• Nurse Certification Benefits Employers - Nurse certification and the continuing education required to maintain certification contribute to the creation of an environment of professionalism and a culture of retention — a critical issue given the severe nursing shortage. Certification is also a vehicle for hospitals to differentiate themselves from competitors and demonstrate to consumers that they have attracted the most skilled and experienced nursing professionals.
  
• Nurse Certification Benefits Nurses - By becoming certified, nurses validate their expert knowledge and skills and therefore position themselves for appropriate recognition and a critical sense of confidence and achievement.” Retrieved February 2016 at Nurse Certification Benefits Patients, Employers and Nurses
  

Some organizations pay a small differential for having a certification, fifty cents to a dollar an hour. Whether or not your facility compensates for certifications is the question. It's entirely voluntary and really depends on how much they value and encourage professional development.

It could also be that your organization has just never had the discussion. Do you have a Clinical Ladder at your facility? Certifications count towards points in Clinical Ladder Programs. Does your facility offer a pay differential for BSN or MSN degrees? if so, there is at least a mechanism in place for compensating in this manner.

Talk to your manager and find out if there is something in place already. If not, ask for a differential or a raise. The amount that is reasonable to ask for varies by state and region, but if your hospital is paying, for example, $1.00 per hour for a BSN degree, then $1.00 per hour would be a reasonable figure. Be prepared to negotiate, meaning if they counter offer with .50 cents, you could either take it or ask for .75 cents. It's still a win.

If they are firm about not granting a raise, ask about tuition reimbursement or continuing education benefit. It's possible that you can be reimbursed for the cost of earning your certification, although it's usually better to make that request before the fact.

When you talk with your manager, be confident and be able to speak to how your being certified benefits the facility. Bring your certificate with you.

Good luck, and again, congrats!

Nurse Beth

[brewski09]

i would only expect a pay increase of the hospital says they give one. Otherwise it's still a good investment in yourself but probably not likely to get you a differential. It does make for a good bargaining chip if you are in a non-Union hospital come review and raise time.

[RNdynamic]

When I got PCCN certified, I submitted a request for a one time bonus and received one.

[XNavyCorpsman]

Good question. I am going to take my test in the near future and wasn't expecting any pay increase.

[oldRN85]

If your hospital does not pay for it, here is a work around. I used to do it for my staff that got specialty certified. On their evaluations, they get a higher point percentage and a bigger raise. This way they are indirectly compensated for their certification. And I would have my I.D. badge redone to reflect certification. When patients ask, you can explain.

[itunsco]

i got 500.00 for my med surg certification. thats one of the motivation to get it

[AgentBeast, MSN, RN]

One place I work paid nothing. The place I currently work pays $500 per initial certification and $100 a year for each year you maintain the certification up to a combined yearly max bonus of $1000 in addition to getting paid more for being higher up on the clinical ladder.

[LoveRNBSN]

As everyone else has said, it really comes down to the place you work. Some places pay more, some places don't pay more but they acknowledge it in your records and some places give you a pat on your back but that's as far as it goes. Utimately, you do this for your own personal growth. You do it because it helps you become a better nurse and gives you the confidence to move forward in our chosen profession.

[lindarn]

And as we say in Brooklyn, that and $0.50, will get you a get you on the subway. In other words, is is meaningless.

There is no reason that when nurses earn specialty certifications,that there should not be any monetary reward for doing so.

It really burns my buns, when I hear nurses say that specialty certifications should not be given any monetary reward. And that more education should not be rewarded with a higher salary.

Physicians who earn specialty certifications, and become board certified, demand top dollar for this. Why shouldn't nurses be given monetary compensation for earning specialty certifications, specialty certifications that may cost lots of money to maintain, cost of the CEU'S to maintain thees certifications, etc.

Unfortunately, too many nurses are not motivated to improve themselves, and resent nurses who do. They whine about, well, we all do the same job, blah. blah, blah, (no we don't), many jobs require a more specialized, skill set, some jobs come with increased responsibility, risk to our licenses, etc. and this should come with a higher salary.

THIS is why specialty nursing needs to be paid a higher salary. I am sorry if you feelings are hurt, but that is the truth.

And no, being able to juggle 10 patients as opposed to ICU who has one or two is not the same specialty skill set. Advanced knowledge, and nursing skills should be rewarded.

Time management is not a specialty skill. Time management is learned on the job. It is not a skill that is learned from education and advanced training. Doctors charge more for their specialized skills, why not nursing?

I am not talking about a few pennies, or, "attaboys", as compensation. Go tell the neuro-surgeon, or the cardiac or renal transplant surgeon, that he/she, should charge the same as a GP , or Family Practice doctor. They would run you out of town, for even thinking that.

More education and training should equal more money.Teachers all get paid more for more education, why not nursing? Because too many nurses need to validate their self worth and self importance, by denying that more education should earn a nurse, more money.

Just my 0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN (ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

[wolf9653]

Might be worth something the next time you go job hunting.