School Nurse certification in PA without enrolling in a program?

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Specializes in School Nurse.

Hello! I have a question for school nurses in PA - is it possible to become certified with the NBCSN and not enroll in classes for certification at a college?? Like, I just want to take the test and not get half a master's degree. Is that kosher? FWIW I work at a private school and certification is not required, but I kind of want to do it anyway. And I do not want to pay more than whatever it costs to take the test!

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Specializes in pediatrics, school nursing.

I don't think there's anything stopping you from getting your NCSN through NBCSN! You don't need to submit anything to NBCSN that shows you are working through certification through the state you work in. If you want to be recognized by the Commonwealth of PA's Dept. of ED, it sounds like yes, you need to jump through some hoops. But if you're working in a private school and plan to remain there, I think you should just make sure you meet the requirements to test through NBCSN and go for it!

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Specializes in kids.
3 hours ago, k1p1ssk said:

I don't think there's anything stopping you from getting your NCSN through NBCSN! You don't need to submit anything to NBCSN that shows you are working through certification through the state you work in. If you want to be recognized by the Commonwealth of PA's Dept. of ED, it sounds like yes, you need to jump through some hoops. But if you're working in a private school and plan to remain there, I think you should just make sure you meet the requirements to test through NBCSN and go for it!

Agreed, do it! 

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Specializes in school nurse.

Yeah, NCSN and the PA certification are apples and oranges. (If you ever wanted to jump into public schools there you'd have a problem though...)

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Specializes in School Nursing.

I haven't seen a public school posting that allowed for NCSN instead of CSN in my area (PA).

Just some things to think about if you ever want to make jump to public schools: 

Most of our public schools pay on a salary scale related to graduate credits completed, so completing a CSN program would put you at the Bachelors + 15 credit step. (Or if you do a 12 credit CSN, many public school induction programs opt you to get 3 graduate credits at heavily discounted <$100/credit rate that counts towards salary movement.)

(Also you need 24 post-bachelor graduate credits to bump into your Level II certification in Pennsylvania. Your Level I lapses after 6 years of services, thus why Payscale grids do not include year 7+ for Bachelor's and Bachelor's+15 column. You can not renew a Level I, you must complete the 24 credits to get a Level II.  CSN certifications are linked to a Level I certificate, I'm not sure if the NCSN test links you to it.  Might be a question for Board of Education.)  

https://www.education.pa.gov/Educators/Certification/PAEducators/Pages/LevelItoLevelII.aspx

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