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Contents
Leadership Message
Association News
CNRN Corner
Industry Trends
Product Feature
Spotlight
Chapter News
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ABNN Update on Investigation into Offering APN Examination
Angela Starkweather, PhD ACNP CCRN CNRN, ABNN President
Over the last several years, there have been multiple requests submitted to the American Board of Neuroscience Nurses (ABNN) to consider the development of a certification examination specifically for advanced practice nurses (APNs). In 2007, ABNN voted to investigate the feasibility of such an exam. At the 2007 AANN Annual Educational Meeting, an open session was held to discuss the possibilities and to find volunteers to collect information for 6 months. The main concerns brought up at the conference session were the potential differences between clinical nurse specialist and nurse practitioner practices, whether there should be separate exams for each type of clinician, legislative and financial issues, and the costs and benefits of holding the certification. We also looked at the professional regulations that guide the implementation of specialty certification exams as put forth by the American Board of Nurse Specialties (ABNS).
ABNS has stringent criteria for the development and management of specialty certification exams that must be followed for them to be approved. For instance, the specialty organization (i.e., AANN) must have a published document that addresses the scope and standards of care and core competencies of advanced practice nursing. The specialty organization also must offer educational programs that provide content and practice hours in the specialty. These foundational elements must be put in place before ABNN can perform a job delineation study upon which test items are built.
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Through the process of information gathering, we identified several working groups within AANN that are currently focusing on the required scope-of-practice and standards-of-care documents. As sister organizations, we support and encourage our AANN colleagues to become involved in this process. We also want to thank the many volunteers who helped ABNN gather information and work through the various issues that confront APNs specializing in the neurosciences. Although there are many pieces that need to come together, we remain open to the possibility of developing a neuroscience APN exam in the future!
Deadlines for CNRN Recertification
2008 CNRN Recertification Deadline: For CNRNs initially certified in 2003 or recertified
effective January 1, 2004
- Application Deadline: October 3, 2008
- Applications must be received at the ABNN office by 5 pm (CDT) on Wednesday, October 3, 2008.
- Late Fee Deadline: January 30, 2009 (Late fee: $75)
- No applications will be accepted after 5 pm, January 30, 2009.
- Application forms must be typed.
The 2008 CNRN Recertification Handbook can be downloaded at www.aann.org/credential/Recert.html.
Fall 2008 CNRN Exam Dates
- Paper-Pencil Exam Date: Saturday, October 25, 2008
- Computerized Exam Window: Saturday, October 11–Saturday, November 8, 2008
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