The American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners (AAENP) and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) are developing the first board specialty certification examination for nurse practitioners who practice in emergency care.
Explore This Issue
ACEP Now: Vol 35 – No 03 – March 2016The AAENP and AANPCP collaboration will provide a certification program that aligns with the APRN Consensus Model for specialty nursing practice and meets national accreditation standards. Individuals practicing in the emergency care setting who seek certification are eligible to take the examination provided that they have completed an appropriate graduate degree and have primary certification as a family nurse practitioner.
The committee (composed of members of AAENP and AANPCP) held a conference call Jan. 20, 2016, and met in Dallas on Feb. 26–28 to discuss the next steps in the ENP certification process. The vendor for test certification is Professional Exam Service. The group has enlisted three panels:
- Panel I: Practice Analysis (Role Delineation)
- Panel II: Subject Matter Experts
- Panel III: Test Construction/Item Writers
While a specific launch date for the ENP certification examination has not yet been established, the anticipated timeframe will be Jan. 1, 2017. Eligibility to take the examination is based on the candidate meeting the following requirements:
- Current, active registered nurse license in the United States, US territories, or a Canadian province or territory.
- Current national certification as a family nurse practitioner.
- Emergency care specialty content that includes at least one of the following: a minimum of 2,000 direct emergency care practice hours in the past five years and evidence of 100 hours of continuing emergency care education with a minimum of 30 of those hours in emergency care procedural skills within those five years; completion of an academic emergency care graduate or post-graduate nurse practitioner program; or completion of an approved emergency fellowship program.
Dr. Hoyt is chair of the NP Validation Committee for AAENP, a clinical professor at the University of San Diego, and an emergency nurse practitioner at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, California. She is editor of the Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal.
5 Responses to “AAENP, AANPCP Partner to Develop Emergency Nurse Practitioner Certification Exam”
March 23, 2016
Rebecca SaulI think the delineation that only an FNP can apply to take this exam would exclude qualified applicants of different backgrounds. I am dual certified in both adult and pediatric acute care with more than 5 years direct ENP experience but by definition would not be able to take the exam or even apply because I am not an FNP. This makes little sense when emergency care is urgent, emergent and acute care, and FNP education and presumably practice is primary care based.
March 25, 2016
AlexHallelujah!!!
It’s about time we have a certification exam that is a collaborative effort between NP organizations and ACEP. NPs and
PA-Cs provide a valuable resourcei n both urban and rural Emergency Departments, and the collaboration between NP groups and ACEP is hopefully the first move in the development of a collegial relationship at the highest levels. As a NP in a rural/remote area, I work with a small staff, in a microscopic facility. Though a board certified Emergency Medicine physician may be the ideal, for my hospital, and many more like mine around the country, it is not financially feasible. Next step…I’d love to see ACEP support the approach that a board certified ENP or PA with emergency medicine CAQ is more qualified than a moonlighting ENT resident. Not sure if it will ever happen, but I am proud to see ACEP and the AAENP stepping up and working together to get something positive done. I hope I’m one of the first testing candidates.
April 10, 2016
William Sabina, MD, FACEPThe exclusion of RNPs who have been working in EDs and have gained either the experience or have sought out post-graduate education for Peds in EM, but did not graduate from an FNP program program is short-sighted. Even the National Consensus Model admits to grandfathering these types of RNPs into the fold. This is, as some states have unfortunately done, a disservice to the communities, the EM departments, and the hard-working and very knowledgeable RNPs who graduated from non-FNP programs. ACEP should re-visit this just as they did with the grandfathering of non-EM boarded Emergency Physicians in our own past!
August 15, 2016
Sixta BowersoxYou hit the nail on the head. Thanks for the info, super helpful. By the way, if anyone is facing a problem of filling a form, I’ve found a template here
http://goo.gl/ZA3aS1. You also can esign the form and fax it.August 16, 2016
Cynthia SchneiderI have been an ACNP for 16 years, and have practiced in ICU settings and multiple large and small Emergency Departments. It will be a loss that I will not be able to obtain certification, but, will continue to practice in the Emergency Department, nonetheless.
Many years ago, as Emergency Medicine was evolving ,physicians from various specialties were “grandfathered” into the certification. This should be considered, as it would be a shame to fractionate our profession further.