FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 11, 2000
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Certified Nurses Report Fewer Adverse Events
Survey links certification with improved health care
Washington, D.C.- In the wake of an Institute of Medicine study that found that health care errors kill a startling 44,000 to 98,000 people each year, another study indicates that professional certification for registered nurses is a factor in improving patient safety.
Findings from the largest study ever conducted on U.S. and Canadian nurses who hold professional certification revealed that certification is a key tool in reducing health care errors.
Nurses earn certification, both general and specialty, by meeting eligibility requirements, such as clinical experience and continuing education and then validating their skills, knowledge and abilities by passing a national certifying exam. Professional certification for nurses was first offered in the 1970s and has grown significantly over the last two decades. Currently, more than 350,000 nurses in the U.S. and Canada hold professional certification.
Conducted by the Nursing Credentialing Research Coalition (NCRC), the study found that certification has a dramatic impact on the personal, professional and practice outcomes of certified nurses. Specifically, nurses in the study stated that certification enabled them to experience fewer adverse events and errors in patient care than before they were certified. They reported feeling more confident, after being certified, in their ability to detect early signs/symptoms of complications in their patients and to initiate early and prompt interventions for such complications.
"Since not all adverse events are preventable or attributable to errors, the ability of the nurse to recognize and intervene in sentinel signs/symptoms during the trajectory of the patient's condition is critical to the outcomes of adverse events," remarked Ann Cary, PhD, RN, principle investigator of the study. Cary is scholar-in-residence at the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and a professor at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.
"The data from this study is paramount to an initial understanding of the nature of quality outcomes and patient safety factors that may be optimized by certification," Cary continued. “Given the IOM report on the prevalence of medical errors, the NCRC findings are a piece of the puzzle in building a comprehensive approach to patient safety."
According to the study, certified nurses also reported more personal growth, job satisfaction, and believed they were viewed as credible providers. Certification enabled nurses to provide consultation within their organization, participate in leadership activities, and receive financial benefits. Certification is a successful approach to improving patient safety and overall quality of care.
The NCRC study also revealed that certified nurses had high patient satisfaction ratings and reported more effective communication and collaboration with other health care providers. In addition, some certified nurses stated they experienced fewer disciplinary events and work-related injuries than their colleagues.
“This important study, the first of its kind, confirms key aspects of professional nursing practices related to patient outcomes that have been largely undocumented,” stated ANCC President Jan Jones-Schenk, MNA, RN, CNA.
Certification also brought financial rewards, according to study participants. Financial benefits included salary increases, advancement and bonuses. In addition, many respondents noted they were reimbursed for their certification testing expenses, attesting to certification's value to hospitals and other health care facilities.
Study participants were randomly selected from 20 of the 23 nurse certifying bodies, representing more than 350,000 certification holders. More than 19,500 certified nurses provided data on demographic, personal and professional outcomes as well as performance outcomes enabled by certification. They represented more than 50 different certification credentials, with the majority reporting that certification was voluntary for their practice.
Survey participants were employed in every venue of practice, including flight nursing, education, managed care, prisons, solo practice, public health, ambulatory care, occupational health and acute care. One-third of respondents were staff nurses and another 30 percent were nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists. Almost 50 percent of the certified nurses' time was devoted to direct patient care. Further, 91 percent of the respondents reported working in the speciality in which they held certification.
While this study documents nurses' assessment of the value of certification, a study last year found that a vast majority of consumers (87 percent) would be more confident if they knew their nurse was a board certified specialist. ANCC commissioned Wirthlin Worldwide to conduct the consumer survey in response to the results of public opinion polls that indicated patients equate nursing care with quality health care.
“While there are multiple systems factors that contribute to patients experiencing a safe journey in the navigation of health care, clearly the delivery of care by practitioners who have earned a distinctive credential such as certification is a factor to be acknowledged in any system,” Cary concluded. “The evidence of the link between certified nurses and performance outcomes for patients has been made clearer for nurses, patients, employers, payers and policy-makers."
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) is the national program that leads the profession of nursing in the number and scope of its certification examinations. ANCC certifies nurses in general and advanced practice specialties and in modular areas of expertise. In addition, ANCC accredits agencies, organizations, health facilities, schools, and others who offer or approve continuing education courses for registered nurses, and it recognizes excellence in nursing service through its Magnet Nursing Services Recognition Program.
The American Nurses Association is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation’s 2.6 million Registered Nurses through its 53 constituent associations. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
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