Credentialing and certification: Overview, science, and impact on policy, regulation, and practice

AIM

To engage the global nursing community in sharing knowledge, experiences, and lessons learned about credentialing of individual nurses to improve nursing practice, patient safety, and quality of care.

BACKGROUND

Although the United States has a long and robust history of credentialing individual nurses, the opportunity exists to expand the dialogue globally, and is supported by globally focused governing bodies who call for increased or expanded investment in nursing certification and credentialing. Foundational work to define and operationalize certification for research purposes and develop an administrative home for stakeholders interested in certification can be leveraged by countries and regions globally. Existing frameworks for credentialing research may be used to drive theory-based research in the future.

SOURCES OF EVIDENCE

PubMed, International Council of Nurses, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, World Health Organization, American Nurses Association, American Nurses Credentialing Center, and the authors' own experiences.

DISCUSSION

Credentialing as a form of self-governance, as a method for public protection, and as a foundational element in the increasingly new forms of healthcare delivery is intensifying in importance. Credentials provide an opportunity to evaluate relationships between key elements such as nursing practice, environments where nursing care is delivered, and nursing programs with outcomes of interest for the profession such as safety, quality of care, and patient outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Establishing rigorous credentials for nurses demonstrates a commitment to excellence. Credentialing frameworks that are universally applied could enable nurses to move seamlessly across geographic boundaries, permit regulators and employers of nurses to have a common set of standards and expectations, and ensure a level of competency for nursing practice that can be interpreted and trusted by various stakeholders.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY

Policymakers have a pivotal role in advancing credentialing in nursing worldwide. Countries developing credentialing programs in nursing need to study their results to help inform how practice might be required to change over time.

An interactive faculty development workshop designed to improve knowledge, skills (competence), attitudes, and practice in interprofessional continuing education

PURPOSE

Interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) health care educators must plan activities as members of interprofessional teams and deliver activities to an interprofessional audience. Evidence in the literature suggests they are not well prepared to meet this challenge. This paper reviews one strategy to improve the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and practices of IPCE educators.

METHODS

Seven faculty development workshops were conducted within the USA, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Approximately 250 learners participated in the workshops in total, with 107 in an IRB-approved research study.

RESULTS

From the research cohorts demonstrated improved knowledge and skills over a 12-month period. Knowledge and skills scores increased most significantly from baseline to 3 months and remained above baseline at 6-12 months. The workshop was not an effective strategy to improve attitudes towards IPCE, though attitude scores were already high prior to participating.

CONCLUSIONS

All participants actively engaged in the workshops. There were no observed differences in engagement by geographic region, gender, age, or profession. Participants stated they were better able to understand the roles of other team members; perspectives of patients, families, and caregivers; and their own roles on clinical teams. Participants described gaining a new appreciation for the complexity of designing IPCE.