NBCRNA Announces Certification Status Reminder and Update
CHICAGO - October 16, 2019 – The National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA) has added two new certification status categories to help more fully communicate a nurse anesthetist's current certification status to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and to other stakeholders. Additionally, the NBCRNA reminds certificants that in accordance with is accreditors (NCCA, ABSNC*), certification is time limited and as such, use of the CRNA credential is only available to individuals who are currently certified, maintaining CPC compliance. The move to the Continued Professional Certification (CPC) Program in 2016 ensures that those who hold the CRNA credential are committed to continuous learning, meet the criteria to maintain their credential, and are currently certified. Adherence to the established standards for certification continues to validate to the public, as well as the health care community, that the CRNA credential is a gold standard of anesthesia care.
The mindset of the CPC Program is that Initial Certification continues over time as long as the requirements to hold the credential are met. So, if CPC requirements are not maintained, the CRNA's Initial Certification would be affected and they would not be currently certified and would not be eligible to use the CRNA credential.
Therefore, all credential statuses going forward from 1/1/2020 will relate to the Initial Certification. Two status categories are being added to help more fully communicate a nurse anesthetist's current certification status to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and to other stakeholders. All statuses are shown below:
NEW - Not Currently Certified - Retired
NEW - Not Currently Certified - Expired/Not currently CPC compliant
Currently Certified- Full (The vast majority of all CRNAs will be in this category)
Currently Certified- Conditional
Not Currently Certified - Suspended**
Not Currently Certified - Revoked
CRNAs play a critical role in health care and ensuring a high standard of patient care. The NBCRNA wants all CRNAs to continue their credential as long as they desire, whether that be as a clinician, educator, administrator or researcher, and enjoy the rights and privileges that come with the valuable CRNA credential.
*National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC).
**A status of Not Currently Certified – Suspended will be, by default, moved to a status of Not Currently Certified – Expired in cases where suspension is not resolved before the individual’s current certification cycle ends. In such cases of involuntary expiration, the nurse anesthetist will be eligible to apply for CPC compliance and reinstatement of certification only after the condition that was the basis for the suspension has been resolved.
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