Certification: perspectives on competency assurance

As registered professional nurses, we have an obligation to our patients to assure we are practicing at a competent level. Nurse managers and administrators must show to the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO) that the nurses providing care in their facility are competent. Assessing competency is not a simple task, and there is no 1 correct answer or definition of competence or competency assessment. Some of the methods available for competency assessment are self-assessment models, multiple choice examinations used for certification and licensure, oral or essay examinations, and practice or patient simulations. The Certification Board Perioperative Nursing (CBPN) recognizes that learning and competency maintenance is accomplished in a variety of ways, and that learning is achieved through successful participation in various professional activities. Becoming certified and remaining certified, or completion of the Professional Perioperative Portfolio are ways for nurses to continue to show competency in perioperative nursing. Research is vital to validate that certification does indeed show competency. The research committee of CBPN and the Nurse Credentialing Research Coalition (NCRC) are committed to quantify not only the value of the credential but to examine the personal, professional, and practice outcomes of certified nurses across the country. It is hoped that the current research being conducted will eventually allow concerned parties to have assurance that the certified professional registered nurse is indeed a competent registered nurse.