Abington Memorial Hospital's road to certification.

Critical Care/Trauma Clinical Educator Mary Gallagher and Cathy Spahr, SICU and ICU nurse manager, join newly certified CCRNs at Abington Memorial Hospital. Pictured (from left) are Diane Gilson, George Lynch, Gallagher, Nicole Seward, Steve Trobovic, Katie Yansick, Stacey Ridgway and Spahr.

Nurses at Abington Memorial Hospital (AMH) in Abington, Pa. started their educational journey, "The Road to Certification," in June 2006 when they contacted AACN about the group discount program. They researched the AACN Web site and asked Terry Reilly, RN, MSN, CCRN, nurse director for critical care services, and Barbara Wadsworth, RN, MSN, MBA, CNAA, chief nursing officer and vice president for patient services, for their support. The hospital agreed to pay the examination fee for every nurse, and the critical care team formulated an aggressive preparation plan.

Interested staff members had one month to decide if they would join the group and commit to this educational process. Cathy Spahr, RN, BSN, MBA, CCRN, nurse manager of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Mary Gallagher, RN, MSN, CCRN, Critical Care/Trauma clinical educator, organized a three-day CCRN Review Course, which was taught by experienced AMH certified critical care nurses. The weekly classes were a bonding experience for the critical care nurses who participated. Having a large group of people working toward the same goal created enthusiasm and positive energy.

Feedback from staff after they had taken the CCRN exam was positive. The nurses were happy they took the course and believed it improved their clinical practice. As a result of their journey, there are now 28 newly certified CCRNs at AMH; 26 additional CCRN exam candidates, along with 16 PCCN exam candidates, plan to take the certification examination in the spring.

Nancy Cook, RN, BSN, clinical educator for the CV unit (CVU) and heart failure unit (HFU) organized a three-day PCCN review course using the PCCN test plan on AACN's Web site. Nurses from the Progressive Care Unit are also taking the PCCN exam along with staff from the CVU and HFU in the spring.

Congratulations to Abington Memorial Hospital nurses for their ongoing efforts to promote certification. If you want to know more about creating a culture of certification at your hospital, visit AACN Certification Corporation's Web site at www.certcorp.org > Value of Certification.

Thanks to Mary Gallagher and Cathy Spahr for sharing how Abington Memorial Hospital is creating a culture of certification.