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What Types of Nursing Certifications Are There?

Nursing certifications provide nurses with the qualifications that they need to operate within a certain role and at a specific level. If you have these certifications behind you, it could give you access to higher-paying roles, allowing you to advance your career in the nursing profession.

What Are Nursing Certifications?

A certification is a recognition of skill. It’s proof that an individual is ready for a specific role and has the skillset needed to adequately perform that role. The requirements for the certification, as well as the costs involved, the length of time that it takes to complete, and the difficulty level, can vary from certification to certification.

Why Are They Important?

You can have all of the skills and knowledge in the world, but without the right certification, you can’t prove it. That’s why certifications are important.

The right certification can get your foot in the door, allowing you to work within your chosen specialty and helping you to build a career in caring. They can be difficult to obtain and there are many different ones to choose from, but you will learn a lot on the way and those skills will prepare you for a long and promising career.

How To Get Certified

To get certified, you first need to know which certification suits you. From there, you can research the certification, learning about exam eligibility, costs, and study materials. Once you have ticked all of those boxes, you can move on to your study and complete the examination.

Take a look at the list at the bottom of this guide to learn about the types of certifications available to nurses in the United States.

What Are The Most Important Nursing Certifications For New Grads?

Certifications make you a more enticing prospect for employers, which is a key requirement for new graduates.

If you’ve just graduated, you’ll have minimal work experience, and you may feel like you’re trapped in a Catch-22—you need experience to get work, but you can’t get work if you don’t have experience. A certification can make all of the difference, and, in many cases, it will be required.

Some of the most popular choices for new grads include:

Oncology

The field of oncology is becoming increasingly important as the US population grows and gets older. Cancer is primarily a disease that affects older people (although it can strike at any age) and as life expectancy rates climb, there will be more and more cases.

Treatments are also getting more effective and that could create a lot of possibilities for nurses in Oncology. What’s more, healthcare workers in this profession get to be part of potentially exciting innovations in cancer care, ones that could save millions of lives.

Nurse-Midwife

Becoming a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) is a great option for anyone who cares about the health of women and their babies and wants to support pregnant women on their journeys. It is a demanding profession but it’s also one that’s experiencing a lot of growth.

Diabetes Care

There are several certifications that deal with diabetes care and a number of possible careers relating to the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. Diabetes is one of the biggest killers in the United States, and it also contributes to a host of other illnesses.

Millions of Americans are fighting this disease and if you specialize in diabetes care, you can help them to manage their symptoms and improve their prognosis.