The American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS), which represents 37 nursing certification boards and over 920,000 board certified LPNs, RNs and advanced practice nurses, today announced its 2023 Nursing Certification Advocacy Award winner is Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. This annual ABNS award recognizes employers who go above and beyond in their support of specialty nursing certification for their nursing teams.
“Providence exemplifies what it means to advocate for and promote specialty nursing certification in order to give the public the highest quality of nursing care,” said ABNS President and Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board Chief Executive Officer Terri Hinkley, EdD, MBA, BScN, RN, CAE. “They have continued to see an increase in the rate of oncology nursing certifications by making certification preparation more accessible and affordable to their nurses, and we commend their efforts.”
ABNS chose Providence Saint John’s for its unwavering commitment to nursing certification through various efforts systemwide. Providence Saint John’s dedication to nursing certification, and promoting top tier standards of care, has led them to implement several initiatives to get more nurses certified. These efforts include reducing costs, providing more course access, and celebrating the success of newly certified nurses. Additional efforts include:
- Non-exempt RNs are eligible for a $1,100 initial certification bonus and a $550 recertification bonus.
- Exempt RNs receive the same benefit through the Nursing Initiative Program funded by the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation.
- The Mary J. Rudolph funds have been used to send nurses to oncology–specific continuing education courses to meet the required contact hours for certification application.
- All the units and departments with certified nurses have wall plaques with the names of the certified nurses staffing the units.
- In September 2021, the hospital launched the Certification Vouchers Program to ease the way for their nurses to apply for certification. With the Certification voucher program, their nurses do not need to wait for reimbursement of certification fees.
- Nurses who get certified are announced at their daily safety huddle that is attended by hospital leadership and further shared via e-mail and their newsletters.
“We believe it’s critically important to encourage nurses to advance their training in specialties to provide the expertise our patients deserve,” said Stephanie Nolan, RN, Providence Saint John’s chief nursing officer. “This not only improves our care but creates career growth opportunities and provides our newer nurses with a glimpse of the possibilities in our profession.”
“The ABNS board of directors congratulates Providence Saint John’s for elevating the importance of nursing certification,” said Hinkley. “This hospital has set a standard for what it means to champion nursing certification by creating more certification pathways and celebrating successful certification completion.”
About ABNS
The American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS) is a not-for-profit membership organization governed by an elected group of member representatives. With a mission to promote the value of specialty nursing certification, ABNS also serves as a forum for nursing credentialing organizations to connect and dialogue about the specific issues that certified nurses and those seeking certification face.
About Providence Saint John’s Health Center
Providence Saint John’s Health Center is a nationally renowned 266-bed hospital with physicians, nurses, volunteers and support staff who work as a team to provide the best possible medical care to its patients and the community. Providence Saint John’s provides the latest in diagnostic technology and specialty care with a strong commitment to its core service lines: heart and vascular care, oncology, orthopedics and women’s health. Providence Saint John’s also is home to the world-renowned Saint John’s Cancer Institute, dedicated to clinical research and medical advancements in cancer care.
