Which certification, AANP or ANCC

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Specializes in FNP.

I had been told by a NP (that was ANCC Cert) that ANCC is more prestigious. One of my nsg professors at school said that is completely untrue, that they are completely on par w/ one another, but that AANP does more for it's members. Your thoughts?

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I've seen a couple of job postings that say "ANCC preferred". I was leaning towards AANP, but now I'm reconsidering. Will be interested in seeing what others have to say about this.

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Specializes in Emergency, Cardiac, PAT/SPU, Urgent Care.

They are supposed to be on par with each other; but I have seen jobs advertise for ANCC cert only. I assume they probably just aren't aware that the other cert exists and is accepted by the state BON - or maybe if it is a job at a Magnet hospital, they prefer the ANCC cert since the ANCC also designates Magnet certification.

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They are supposed to be on par with each other; but I have seen jobs advertise for ANCC cert only. I assume they probably just aren't aware that the other cert exists and is accepted by the state BON - or maybe if it is a job at a Magnet hospital, they prefer the ANCC cert since the ANCC also designates Magnet certification.

ah ha... that makes sense. I think the hospitals I was looking at are Magnet. Something to consider. Thanks!!

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Specializes in Trauma, Emergency, Urgent Care.

No difference in the real world from an acceptance standpoint, at least as far as I have noticed. (I have worked in a magnet facility with AANP cert.) I would not have even considered the ANCC. Take a moment and compare the re-cert requirements.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Orthopedics, Hospitalists.

It doesn't matter, all that matters is that you pass! I agree with checking out the recert requirements. Sure, 5 years seems a long way away now....one nice thing about the ANCC is they take precepting, writing journal articles, etc, into account and you can include other stuff aside from straight CMEs to your recert.

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The AANP has been around for a long time and it is a sister to the ANA. That should count for something but I have heard a lot of students suggest the ANCC is better??

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Specializes in FNP.

I only hear that (ANCC being better) from students. No one in "the real world" seems to think it matters. There was a position here locally that said ANCC specifically. I called and spoke to the recruiter (I have both, so it doesn't matter but I was curious. I'm not applying for it anyway, lol) and she said, "Oh yeah, AANP is fine too. We just had to keep the ad short."

So, my informal research in the field tells me there is no difference. In my state, we can't use the FNP-C or -BC anyway, Everyone has the same designation. So even if it mattered, it wouldn't matter. ;)

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Specializes in Emergency, MCCU, Surgical/ENT, Hep Trans.

Feds accept either, I took both...just in case.

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The Long Beach VA Hospital accepts AANP only.

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Specializes in FNP.

Interesting. I wonder how long that sort of thing will persist? It is pretty redundant having two different bodies. They ought to just have one IMO.

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.
Interesting. I wonder how long that sort of thing will persist? It is pretty redundant having two different bodies. They ought to just have one IMO.

We will likely continue to see two options for certification for ANP and FNP (ANCC vs AANP), Adult ACNP (ANCC vs American Association of Critical Care Nurses Certification Program), and PNP (ANCC vs PNCB). The rest of the NP specializations have a single board for certification. I also personally wish that we only have one option for certification and we have a separate accrediting body specific to NP programs. Yet another example of divisions in our nursing camps.

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