Certification of pediatric oncology nurses: from roundtable discussion to reality

Certification for pediatric oncology nurses became a reality in 1993 when the first national certification examination was administered in Reno, NV. Some members of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Nursing initially voiced an interest in certification at a roundtable discussion held during the 1988 annual meeting. The momentum lead to the formation of a task force to initiate the certification process. The task force led to an ad hoc committee, organized to design and implement certification. Certification is now overseen by the Certification Corporation of Pediatric Oncology Nurses. The benefits of certification and a historical overview of pediatric oncology nursing certification is discussed in this article. Details of how the test was designed are offered, as well as results from the pilot study. This article concludes with data from the first examination.