Chapter 4 Nursing Licensure and Certification Susan R. Jacob, PhD, MSN, RN Learning Outcomes After studying this chapter, the reader will be able to: 1. Certification vs. Licensure A common problem for those entering the healthcare professions is to define the difference between licensure and certification. The state agency is authorized to promulgate regulations to implement the nurse practice act for the purpose of protecting the public health and safety. Primary purpose was, and still is, Only those certification programs willing to make the necessary changes can be used for licensure. Even after approving an examination for licensure purposes, it is the duty of the board of nursing to continue to monitor the examination to ensure that it continues to meet their standards. This is accomplished by submitting the certification from Bellevue College. New graduates can be confused regarding the meaning of APRN certification examinations. A too broad or too narrow scope would be inappropriate for an APRN examination used for licensure. Medical licensure and Board Certification mean very different things for physicians practicing in the United States and the patients for whom they care. The public can rightfully assume that the use of certified professionals will increase the probability of more proficient care. 3, Manuscript 1. A list of the APRN certification examinations that are acceptable by a board of nursing can often be found in their nurse practice act or rules. Nursing Licensure and Certification. Nurse practitioners educated in, for instance, a disease entity have a very narrow scope of practice. Licensure results from the enactment of a nurse practice act by state legislatures to regulate nursing. A trend of focusing on narrow specialties has occurred among nurse practitioner education programs and certification examinations. However, with the advent of APRN certification examinations being used by boards of nursing as a measure of APRN competence, the stakeholders for APRN certification programs now include the public. The difference between licensure and certification seems very distinct in many healthcare roles. The State of Washington, Department of Health, is responsible for issuing professional certifications for Allied Health occupations. From a measurement perspective, they may not be constructed psychometrically in a manner appropriate for legal recognition. On the basis of 2007 data (National Council of State Boards of Nursing [NCSBN]), 45 boards of nursing (out of 57 jurisdictions in the United States and its territories) use APRN certification examinations as one of the requirements for advanced practice licensure for nurse practitioners, and 38 boards of nursing use APRN certification examinations for clinical nurse specialists.1 With the adoption of the APRN Uniform Requirements, the number of boards using certification examinations promises to increase.2 The APRN Uniform Requirements were developed to serve as a foundation for the APRN Compact. If you are licensed to do something, for example practice medicine, then you have the legal authority to do that. Chicago, IL: National Council of State Boards of Nursing; 2007. Identification of the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be included in the examination is based on a job analysis study. The exception is our nursing program, which prepares for licensure in nursing (RN). 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