Providing your patients with the highest quality healthcare in today’s competitive climate is not an easy task, particularly when faced with budget constraints and a shortage of nurses. Encouraging and supporting certification can bring you one step closer to that goal. Some of the benefits that you, your patients, and your facility can obtain are outlined below:

• Public preference: The public prefers a hospital that employs a high percentage of certified nurses (Harris Interactive Inc. American Association of Critical Care Nurses Survey. November 2002).
• Patient confidence: Increase your patients' confidence in the standard of their care by giving them access to a nurse whose expertise is validated.
• Public demand: Meet public demand for safety and standards using a marketable tool.
• Reduce liability: A nurse whose experience and expertise is validated, who is dedicated to their specialty, and who remains abreast of developments within the field will provide the highest quality care. (National Council Research Coalition “International Survey of Certified Registered Nurses” 1999)
• Improve retention: Investing in nurses’ education helps develop a stable and highly skilled workforce.
• Decrease in-house training time: Establish a quality mentor program using nurses whose knowledge is certified.
• Influence: Certification can have a positive influence on applications for distinction from organizations such as, American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program, the Joint Commission, and the American College of Surgeons.

It is apparent why you need certified nurses on your staff. Here are some tips on how you can you get and maintain them:

Financial Support

• Offer a bonus or provide a pay differential to certified nurses.
• Provide reimbursement or financial assistance for test fees and related expenses.
• Give paid time off to take the test.
• Allocate funds to purchase study materials for the departments to use.
• Offer financial support for the continuing education that is required to maintain certification.

Recognition
Financial support is often the strongest motivator, however INCC knows that funds can be limited; here are some alternatives that can be offered in addition to the above or as alternatives if your budget is really tight:

• Send a letter of congratulations when nurses achieve certification.
• Include nurses’ credentials on name badges, business cards, and in any other published material.
• Publicly display certificates.
• Announce the achievement in the newsletter.
• Provide a certified nurse reception during nurses’ week.
• Certified Nurses Day is March 19 -- visit www.certifiednursesday.org for more information and marketing materials.
• IV Nurse Day is January 25 -- offer a token of appreciation to CRNI®s.
• Encourage a CRNI® to apply for the prestigious CRNI® of the Year Award.

Employees in every profession require positive feedback and recognition for their achievements. In the nursing profession, the need for this is dramatically increased; stress levels are high, hours are long, and remuneration can not always adequately compensate. Employee satisfaction, performance, and retention rates can drastically increase when morale is high.

E-mail INCC to request CRNI® marketing materials today.

Employer Testimonials

• As our industry confronts the problem of medication safety head-on, one of the best investments a provider can make in risk management is having a CRNI® on staff.
  Susan V. Juris, President, University Hospitals Home Care Services, Inc., Warrensville Heights, OH

• We pride ourselves on being a leader in infusion therapy in our region. Part of this leadership is based upon meeting the standards of those organizations that promote excellence in patient care, such as JCAHO and INCC. Through the certification of our nurses, we can assure both our referral and payer sources that our staff is highly skilled and knowledgeable in infusion therapy services, and can provide patients with excellent care. In addition, they are recognized as the "experts" in the staff education they provide to our community organizations. To us, certification is one of our keys to success!
  Jackie Arthur, RN, MS, MPA, COO, Palmetto Infusion Services,
  Charleston, SC

• Certification meets the public's demand for safety, reduces practice errors, improves retention, and assures that our infusion nurses are equipped with knowledge of the most current medical technology.
  Margie Tessner, RN, DrPH, Nurse Manager, VAT/AIC,
  Loma Linda, CA

• We encourage all of our infusion nurses to take the CRNI® examination. It validates the competency of the infusion nurse and lends credibility to their higher level of expertise.
  Penny S. Lovitt, RN, MSN, Regional Manager, South Mississippi HomeCare and Hospice

• We wish to be the provider of choice for home infusion therapy, and we believe having CRNI®s on staff will distinguish us from other agencies in the area.
  Patricia Fleming, RN, MS, Director, Patient Care Services, VNA of Rhode Island

• The business philosophy of MediLink Homecare, Inc. is to exceed our customers' expectations consistently. Our nursing staff carries out this vision every day and is the driving force behind our outstanding patient satisfaction record. Their skills and abilities are recognized and validated by obtaining the CRNI® credential, and this commitment to their profession places them among the very best in the specialty practice of infusion therapy.
  Sandy Tzaferos, PharmD, President, MediLink HomeCare, INC., Hammonton, NJ

• As a hospital with the MAGNET designation, Barnes-Jewish Hospital wishes to support its nurses in their quest for certification. Certification not only challenges our nurses to reach for the stars, but their enhanced knowledge benefits our patients. We not only support them, but we applaud them for their accomplishments.
  Cathy Robinson, RN, Manager, Vascular Access Service, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO

You have seen the benefits that can be achieved through certification; can you afford not to offer support?

For additional information, marketing materials, or to submit your testimonial e-mail INCC or call (800) 434- INCC.