We appreciate the amazing work of our dedicated team of State Liaisons! There are some innovative upgrades to the NBCSN website coming in 2021. The additions to the State Liaison pages will help us stay better connected and create more opportunities to expand the reach of the true ambassadors of national certification, our State Liaisons!
Lori and I thought it would be fun to share our personal journeys to become NCSN(s). It is always helpful to hear why school nurses are considering sitting for the exam and what drives their decision making.
Here is Robin’s story:
Personal and professional goals sometimes supersede financial gain or salary bumps. That is often my answer when colleagues ask me why I decided to sit for the NCSN exam. I am state certified through the New Jersey Department of Education, so it’s a reasonable question. Goals, personal, professional, or a combination of both, were my deciding factor. Nurses LOVE credentials, our alphabet soup of accomplishments really means something. Simply stated, I wanted to be able to proudly write “NCSN” after my name.
Few of us like to take tests; it could be PTSD from nursing school and our boards. There seem to be extreme reactions around the NCSN testing experience, but I am here to share that it is not only doable, but it is also actually satisfying. Once the test ended, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I did not know the test results for some time, so it was not about instant gratification. My sense of accomplishment came from completing the test, feeling challenged, and satisfied that I did my best, regardless of the outcome.
I was private about my decision to sit for the test, and admittedly it was probably out of a sense of embarrassment in case I did not pass. Now, reflecting on the experience in its totality, I think I could have benefited from sharing my plans. That is one reason for sharing my story. It is an interesting conversation starter to encourage our colleagues who remain unsure about the exam or have questions about the process to first hear about their motivation.