Integrative Review: Certification In Nursing Education

Abstract

Nursing, being the foundation of healthcare, need competent nursing educators to prepare the future workforce. Certification demonstrates that a nurse has surmounted a specialized body of knowledge. The National League for Nursing (NLN) offers certification as an academic nurse educator (CNE), academic clinical nurse educator (CNEcl), and novice academic nurse educator (CNEn). The NLN’s nurse educator certification mission is to promote excellence in the advanced specialty role of the nurse educator; clinical and classroom roles. Professional and personal accomplishment, satisfaction, and empowerment are the benefits of certification. Cost, time, academic workloads, lack of promotion, tenure, reward, and certification in another specialty are considered major barriers. Faculty are motivated in pursuing certification if provided ample time, financial reimbursement, and recognition from the institution. Policy development and organizational processes should be expanded to prepare nursing faculty for the CNE since research has shown that certified nursing faculty exhibited improvements in their teaching and their roles were extended. However, little research exists that links certification with improvement in nursing student outcomes.