TNCC certification

chare · Jul 22, 2011

although pre-hospital trauma life support (phtls) is a pre-hospital course, it is an excellent course (6th edition). however, the national association of emergency medical technicians (naemt) is in the process of updating the course and i have not yet seen the 7th edition text. if you do take phtls i suggest that you take either an advanced or combined course. both the 6th and 7th edition textbooks are available on line.

the naemt also offers courses in advanced medical life support and emergency pediatric care.

international trauma life support (itls) is another pre-hospital trauma program that you might consider. although i have no current exposure to this course, they used to be very similar in content and presentation.

yes, you can take the trauma nursing core course (tncc) in any state. as the emergency nurses association (ena) posts all approved courses regardless of whether it is a closed course or not, there is no need to search elsewhere.

another trauma course offered by the ena is the course in advanced trauma nursing (catn), although they recommend that you have previously attended a tncc course prior to attending. this course is also offered less frequently than tncc.

the ena also offers the emergency nursing pediatric course (enpc).

another course you might consider, if available, is the advanced trauma course for nurses (atcn). this course, which is sponsored by the society of trauma nurses is taught concurrently with the advanced trauma life support (atls) course. you would audit the lectures with the physicians and then attend skills stations separately from the physicians.

you might also find an atls course to audit if you are willing to be a "victim" for the final evaluation station. a list of upcoming atls courses can be located here: atls - course search.

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jul 22, 2011

Thanks for the info and the links chare. I was not aware of the Society of Trauma Nurses - they seem to be an organization that is aligned with my nursing interests and I think I may look into membership.

PHTLS is a course I've taken previously but need again to be current. Many of us EMT's who were getting close to our ConEd cutoff dates would sign up for this because in one weekend, you got 16 med-trauma CEUs which would put you over the top for the next 3 years. As you imply, it's probably not much of a help with nursing but it's cheap (free for volunteer EMTs in my area) and I do need EMT CEU's.

I e-mailed the DE co-ordinator for the TNCC a few days ago but have not heard back yet. They offer the course in Newark, DE - which is much closer for me than Harrisburg, not to mention Erie - in Aug, Sep and Dec and I'm hoping I can do one of these. I think the real question is whether the DE site will allow a PA nurse to take the course there though. For some courses, and I don't know if TNCC is one, the state subsidizes training and so the course is limited to residents.

Thanks again.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Jul 24, 2011

Cooper University Hospital in Camden offers TNCC as well as some other courses you might want to look in to. I took ENPC there and really enjoyed it- I thought they did a great job. It doesn't matter where you are licensed or residing for these classes.

Those courses re all going to add up to some serious $$$ though. If you're interested in emergency nursing, which it sounds like you are, have you joined the ENA? They have chapter meetings in Philly every other month and it's a great way to network.

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jul 26, 2011

Thanks hiddencat. I heard from the DE TNCC co-ordinator this morning. She tells me that all of their 2011 courses are full, so Cooper may be a good option.

You're right that the certs are going to be a bit costly but I think I have to bite the bullet if I'm going to have any chance at being hired. I may be able to get my local fire company (where I'm a volunteer FF as well as an EMT) to pony up or at least assist with the cost for something like TNCC where there's a reasonable case to be made for EMS relevance. I looked into joining the ENA and think I eventually will but will defer that until next summer when I hopefully will have completed my RN-BSN and can get serious about looking for a nursing job.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Jul 26, 2011

The thing about joining the ENA is that managers and department heads attend those chapter meetings, so when I say it's a great way to network, I mean it is a GREAT way. Like, this is how I personally got my job great, without having any certifications. Membership is also cheaper than those classes.

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jul 26, 2011

The thing about joining the ENA is that managers and department heads attend those chapter meetings, so when I say it's a great way to network, I mean it is a GREAT way. Like, this is how I personally got my job great, without having any certifications. Membership is also cheaper than those classes.

Hmm - you seem to be trying to tell me something . . .

Seriously, thanks for the tip.

alanrday · Apr 26, 2012

Local trauma and childrens hospitals dont always update their classes.give them a try.

To try and help improve my chances of getting hired, I've decided to get a number of certifications. PHTLS, ACLS, PALS and possibly Trauma Nurse Core Course. I have a number of options for the first 3 but not for TNCC. The ENA website shows that TNCC is only offered in 2 locations in PA, Erie and Harrisburg. Erie is a 7 hour drive and while H'burg is closer, it ain't right around the corner either. Worse, the courses offered in H'burg are all marked as "closed" which I believe means that they are not open to the general RN population.
Does anyone know of alternatives for TNCC? Can I take the course in a neighboring state like NJ or DE?