What Certificates To Get for New RN

LovingLife123 · Jun 24, 2019

You can’t get any of those certifications without experience. You should have your BLS current. ACLS is good for critical care.

You just need to apply, apply, apply. Why did you take so long to take nclex? You are only s new grad for 1 year post graduation so I would work hard on getting into those residency programs.

klone, MSN, RN · Jun 24, 2019

6 hours ago, xsoymilk said:
I also looked into TNCC (Trauma Certificate) and PALS, Critical Care Certificate. Are these good ideas?

No, they're not good ideas. As the previous poster stated, the TNCC and critical care certifications are not something you could even test for until you have at least a year or two of nursing experience working in those areas. And you certainly wouldn't be able to pass the exams without significant time spent working in those specialties. Your energies should be focused on getting a job.

allnurses Guide · Jun 24, 2019

All certifications require a number of hours of experience, as the purpose of a certification is to denote a level of expertise in a specific specialty. Look up the requirements- the info is readily out there. You can't be a specialist if you have no experience. ?

Best of luck in your job search.

xsoymilk, ADN, BSN · Jun 24, 2019

Hmm maybe there was a miscommunication on my part. I contacted the training sites for those certifications and was told I did not need clinical experience. Ill look into them more. I am applying to everything I can right now and brushing up my resume. Thank you!

LovingLife123 · Jun 25, 2019

3 hours ago, xsoymilk said:
Hmm maybe there was a miscommunication on my part. I contacted the training sites for those certifications and was told I did not need clinical experience. Ill look into them more. I am applying to everything I can right now and brushing up my resume. Thank you!

Yes, you can take the TNCC class but you can’t take the tests to get certified without so many clinical hours. To take the CCRN exam you need at least 1 year experience in critical care and it’s either 750 hours or 1500 hours on a critical care unit. You would have to have so many trauma hours to be able to sit for the TNCC exam I believe.

ACLS and PALS are basically how to run codes. It’s not going to make a ton of sense without any clinical experience but you can get those certifications. My hospital paid for me to get my ACLS once I started working on my critical care unit. But say you end up in a long term care facility. ACLS would have been a complete waste of money.

Find a new grad residency program. That’s going to be your best bet.

Red Shirt 6, CNA · Jul 3, 2019

If you just want some certifications to include on your resume a Food Handlers Certificate/certification is cheap and easy to get although useless. Some FEMA training is free and might be helpful for applying to an ED. The only other thing I know about is Healthstream.com which offers some accredited continuing education courses. I hope this helps

L-ICURN, BSN, RN · Jul 3, 2019

I have both CCRN and TNCC. Both are expensive (at least I think they are). I know for the CCRN you have to have so many hours of experience to take the exam. Or at least I did a year ago when I took it. My manager had to verify hours. As for TNCC, I don't know the hour requirement, but my employer didn't sign me up for the class until I had about 9 months in the unit.

The trick is to get the job, then work the hours and have your employer pay for them. In my case, the TNCC was required for my job. The CCRN was paid for by me.

duachangesthings · Jul 5, 2019

Work on getting your BSN while you gain experience for certifications.

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Jul 5, 2019

To clarify, there are two types of certifications available to nurses: specialty certifications and procedural ones.

Specialty certifications (i.e. becoming certified within your specialty) are only available after working a certain number of hours within the specialty, which usually works out to at least 1-2 years. So these you wouldn't be qualified for (yet).

Procedural certifications are courses that teach you how to complete a task; once you complete the course, you earn the certification. These include BLS, ACLS (running an adult code), PALS (running a peds code), NRP (running a neonatal code during delivery), NIH Stroke Scale (responding to stroke), chemo certification (training to administer chemo), etc.

You are theoretically able to get procedural certifications, but there are a bunch of reasons it isn't recommended. First, they tend to be pretty expensive; if you need any of those certifications, your hospital will pay for them. Second, as others have said, they won't make much sense without any context. In my NICU/PICU settings, new grads weren't even allowed to take PALS/NRP until they had at least 4-6 months of experience, since before that time most of the info is over your head; you get the most out of it once you have some background to apply it to. Therefore, even if you got those certifications now, it probably wouldn't make you a much stronger candidate, if that makes sense.

IMHO, the best use of your time is in crafting a really strong cover letter. That may help you stand out in a sea of applicants. And, as others have said, long-term your best bet it to start working toward your BSN; for better or worse, BSNs tend to be given preference when hiring in acute care settings.

motherofcats, ADN · Jul 6, 2019

A lot of hospitals will pay for certifications if required for that specific position. Read the job descriptions, many say ACLS/PALS within 6 months of hire or something like that. I did get ACLS, but wouldnt spend money on other certifications right now.