What Are Credentials for Medical Surgical Certification?

Experienced medical-surgical nurses can earn certification in their specialty.

A medical-surgical nurse is a generalist, providing nursing services on an acute hospital unit to people with a wide variety of medical disorders and surgical conditions. An experienced medical-surgical nurse can earn certification in her specialty.

Types

In the U.S., two professional organizations offer medical-surgical nursing certification: the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nursing through its Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB).

Requirements

Both certifications require a nurse to hold an active state-specific RN license, have at least two years of practice as an RN and accumulate at least 2,000 practice hours over the past three years.

Testing

Both ANCC and MSNCB provide a rigorous exam that candidates for certification must pass.

Identification

Once an RN meets all the requirements and passes the certification exam, he'll be allowed to use a certification credential after his name. ANCC bestows the RN,C (certified RN) credential, while the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nursing endorses the CMSRN (certified medical-surgical registered nurse) credential.

Considerations

Both organizations require a certified medical-surgical nurse to earn periodic re-certification by demonstrating continuing experience in the specialty (1,000 hours over five years). ANCC requires 150 contact hours of continuing nursing education over the five years, while those who want to be re-certified as CMSRNs need 90 contact hours over five years.

References

• Academy of Medical-Surgical Nursing: Certification

Resources

• American Nurses Credentialing Center: Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification