Advanced Oncology Nursing Certification
Oncology nurses are important members of the health care community. These registered nurses specialize in providing care for critically ill or chronically ill cancer patients. Oncology nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists typically have advanced oncology certification, which allows them to provide advanced care including prescribing medications, monitoring their patient's condition and developing plans for symptom management.
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Function
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All oncology nurses work in conjunction with numerous other cancer specialists to deliver a variety of health care treatments to cancer patients. Routine duties may include providing basic nursing care to cancer patients, educating and supporting family members and caregivers of cancer patients and administering and managing the effects of chemotherapy. Certified advanced practice oncology nurses may add certain administrative, educational, research and supervisory responsibilities to their function.
Types
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Certification for oncology nurses is administered by the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC). The ONCC offers three types of advanced oncology nursing certifications: the AOCNP (Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse Practitioner) certification, which applies to nurse practitoners; the AOCNS (Advanced Oncology Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist), which applies to clinical nurse specialists; and the AOCN (Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse) credential, which gives oncology nurses advanced certification in adult oncology.
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Requirements
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Advanced oncology nurses who wish to sit for the certification exam for either the AOCNP or the AOCNS must possess an active, current and unrestricted RN license. They must hold at least a master's degree in nursing from an accredited institution. Those sitting for the AOCNP certification must have already completed a nurse practitioner program from an accredited institution and have at least 500 hours of supervised clinical practice as an oncology nurse practitioner. Those sitting for the AOCNS certification must have at least 500 supervised hours in advanced practice oncology nursing.
Examinations
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Examinations for both credentials are comprised of 165 multiple-choice questions. Forty of the questions are pretest questions that are not scored and do not apply toward the final grade. The remaining 125 questions will be scored and will determine the candidate's final grade. Testing is available throughout the year at multiple computer-based testing centers around the United States.
Benefits
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects employment opportunities for all registered nurses to grow by 22 percent between 2008 and 2018, faster than the average for all other occupations. Advanced practice nurses, including advanced oncology certified nurse practitioners and advanced oncology certified clinical nurse specialists, are expected to be in even greater demand. According to salary.com a staff oncology nurse could expect to earn an average of $62,168 as of November 2009. The Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation notes that certified nurses earned more than $9,000 per year more than their uncertified counterparts.
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References
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