Published on October 28, 2024
Read Time: 2 Minutes
Three Things to Know
- The Phelps Health Emergency Department was named a 2024 National Certification Champion by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing, recognizing its commitment to nursing excellence.
- This award highlights Phelps Health’s efforts to increase specialty certifications among nurses, aiming to improve patient care quality and safety.
- Phelps Health prioritizes specialty certification for its nursing staff by providing dedicated resources and support.
The Phelps Health Emergency Department (ED) was recently named a 2024 National Certification Champion by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN). This award recognizes the department’s exceptional commitment to emergency, trauma, flight and critical care ground transport nursing professionalism and clinical excellence through nursing specialty certification. Phelps Health was the only national winner in the Small Healthcare Organization category.
"Phelps Health is proud to be recognized as a BCEN National Certification Champion, a title that showcases our team's advanced skills and dedication to excellence,” said Keri Brookshire-Heavin, senior vice president, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer at Phelps Health. “This achievement reflects our commitment to ongoing improvement, with patient safety and quality care always coming first."
According to BCEN’s September 19 national announcement: “The 2024 BCEN National Certification Champions show us how nursing specialty certification empowers RNs (registered nurses), elevates patient care and helps ensure communities of every size have access to advanced emergency and trauma care,” said BCEN CEO Janie Schumaker, MBA, BSN, RN, CEN, ICE-CCP, CENP, CPHQ, FABC. “We applaud the winners’ commitment to nursing excellence.”
An organization must create an environment that values ongoing education to support Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) certification effectively.
“Investing in nursing specialty certification enhances your staff's development and the quality of care you deliver,” said Gavin McDonald, RN, CEN, critical care nurse educator at Phelps Health. “Certification empowers nurses with advanced knowledge and skills, enhancing their confidence and competence in delivering exceptional care.”
Phelps Health began its push for certified nurses at the beginning of 2024, providing nurses with financial support for certification preparation resources and access to a reference library, as well as offering a review course twice a year.
“Thirty-percent (30%) of our ED nurses were certified in just 3 months,” McDonald said. “After 1 year of the class and resource implementation, we expect the percentage of certified ED nurses to increase from 4% to over 55%. By prioritizing nursing certification, you're not just elevating your team—you're elevating the standard of care for your entire organization.”
Nursing specialty certification independently validates an RN’s advanced knowledge, clinical judgment and professionalism across an entire nursing specialty. Specialty board certification of RNs helps assure patients and their families that they are receiving the highest level of nursing care. A growing body of research links nursing specialty certification to improved patient care, safety and outcomes.
BCEN officials visited Phelps Health on September 25 to present the BCEN 2024 National Certification Champion trophy. A brief profile of the ED’s award-winning accomplishments is featured in BCEN’s Meet the Winner series.
About BCEN
Founded in 1980, the independent, not-for-profit Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) offers nursing specialty certification programs fostering empowered nurses across the emergency spectrum who contribute noticeably to patient care, safety and outcomes. Over 50,000 registered nurses (RNs) specializing in emergency, pediatric emergency, flight, critical care ground transport, trauma and burn nursing hold one or more BCEN certification. Learn more at bcen.org.