National Board for Certification of School Nurses

POSITION STATEMENT

SCHOOL NURSE CERTIFICATION

HISTORY:

The profession and the public expect nurses to be fully qualified and competent in order to deliver quality nursing services.  Licensure exists to provide for the public's safety (Pohlman, 2001).  Licensure is mandated and conferred by a governmental agency and usually deals with minimum levels of nursing competency as compared to specialty practice (Gregory & Marcontel, 2000).  Nursing licensure is managed at the state level, most often by its board of nursing.  Professional competency involves more than knowledge.  Competency includes critical thinking and logical, safe, and evidence-based decision making.  Certification is a voluntary process by which a nongovernmental agency recognizes the knowledge, skills, and abilities (competence) in a specialty practice (American Board of Nursing Specialties, 2002).  School nursing is a specialty nursing practice and has a unique body of clinical knowledge and standards of practice.  The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) identified the importance of promoting school nursing competence and initiated action to develop school nurse certification.  Subsequently, the National Board for Certification of School Nurses (NBCSN) was formed and the first national, professional certification examination was given in 1986.  The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), affiliated with the American Nurses Association (ANA), withdrew in 2000 from the activity of national certification (Schwab, Hootman, Gelfman, Gregory, & Pohlman, 2001).

ISSUE:

School nursing is a demanding specialty.  Its practice requires a breadth of clinical knowledge and skills in order to work safely and effectively with vast populations, with individuals having great differences in physiological, emotional, and cognitive needs and responses, and with the autonomous and unique nature of school communities.  Because the science of school nursing is ever changing and growing in complexity, school nurses must be dedicated to life long professional learning.  Certification is an ongoing process and subsequently helps to validate current competency.  Some states require school nurses to be certified in a process that mirrors teacher certification.  The national examination was not and is not meant to be in conflict with state agency certification (Blair, Henry, Marcontel, & Miller, 1986).

RATIONALE:

School and health care reforms are mandating professional accountability and risk management.  Certification is the best way to ensure core knowledge and judgment for competent practice and to establish a level of safe, quality service (Costante, 2001, pg. 499).  The purpose of certification continues to be the promotion of safe and effective school nursing services (Professional Testing Corporation, 2002).  Certification gives consumers more information about the qualifications of providers and subsequently increased selection options (Cary, 2001).  Certification tests are constructed and evaluated using psychometrically sound methods.  The certifying body assures that test scores are sufficiently reliable and that passing scores are fair to all candidates, using sound psychometric methods (American Board of Nursing Specialties, 2001).  Certification provides the personal and professional validation of mastering core school nurse specialty practice knowledge and may afford professional and financial advancement (Gregory & Marcontel, 2001).  Certification sets a standard for school nurse education.

CONCLUSION:

It is the position of the National Board for Certification of School Nurses that students and school districts are entitled to competent school nurses.  Furthermore, it is the position of NBCSN that school districts should act to ensure school nurse competency by supporting educational opportunities that afford the attainment of school nurse certification and by establishing policy that mandates continuing education and school nurse certification in the course of employment.

REFERENCES

American Board of Nursing Specialties. Standards. Retrieved November 24, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.nursingcertification.org/standards.htm

Blair, B., Henry, S., Marcontel, M., & Miller, W. (1986). National Certification of School Nurses. School Nurse, 2:3 (18-23)

Carey, A. (2001). Certified Registered Nurse: Results of the Study of the Certified Workforce. American Journal of Nursing, 101:1 (44-52)

Costante, C. (2001). Future Challenges for School Health Services and the Law: A Manager's Perspective. In Schwab, N. and Gelfman, M. (eds). Legal Issues in School Nursing. North Branch MN: Sunrise River Press.

Gregory, B., Marcontel, M. (2001). National School Nurse Certification Part II: Questions and Answers. Journal of School Nursing, 17:3 (157-161)

Gregory, B., Marcontel, M. (2000). National School Nurse Certification Part I: An Ongoing Process. Journal of School Nursing, 16:4 (48-53)

Pohlman, K. (2001). Legal Framework and Financial Accountability for School Nursing Practice. In Schwab, N. and Gelfman, M. (eds). Legal Issues in School Nursing. North Branch MN: Sunrise River Press.

Professional Testing Corporation. (2002). Certification Handbook for School Nurses: Handbook for Candidates. New York: Author. Retrieved March 27, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ptcny.com 

Schwab, N., Hootman, J., Gelfman, M. with Gregory, B., Pohlman, K. (2001). School Nursing Practice: Professional Performance Issues. Legal Issues in School Nursing. North Branch MN: Sunrise River Press.