title: The impact and perception of nursing certification in pediatric nursing.
abstract: Nursing certification is an assessment and formal recognition of specialized knowledge, and is awarded through achievement of standards identified by a nursing specialty (Niebuhr & Biel, 2007). This recognition is a method of not only assessing competency, but knowledge and skills, and has been linked to an increase in patient satisfaction and nurse retention (Kleinpell, 2009). For these reasons, a heightened focus has been on identifying the value of nursing certification and outcomes related to patient care. This study explored nurse perception of certification and measured response to a high fidelity simulated scenario by certified and non-certified pediatric nurses to a deteriorating patient through simulation and self-assessment.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA. Electronic address: kristen.straka@chp.edu.
authors.forename: Kristen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Straka
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Heather L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Ambrose
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Marnie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burkett
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Capan
authors.affiliation: Evidence-Based Practice and Nursing Research, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Flook
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Tonya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Evangelista
authors.affiliation: UPMC Health Plan, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Patty
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Houck
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lukanski
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schenkel
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thornton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002568:Certification / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000193:education*; D010465:Perception; D058996:Quality Improvement; D012016:Reference Values; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Nursing certification; Patient outcomes; Pediatrics