S T R U C T U R A L E M P O W E R M E N T
Professional advancement
One way nurses can advance their professional development is by pursuing specialty
certification. Pursuing certification can be costly and time consuming. A successful
strategy to increase the percentage of certification involves a multi-faceted approach.
Texas Children’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) worked hard to improve its nursing
certification rate. NICU nurse leaders hosted free two-day review courses for nurses on
the unit. It also provided study materials and, as an additional incentive to take the exam,
the department advanced nurses the registration fee to remove the financial burden.
The department’s efforts proved effective for increasing the certification rate. The NICU
began with 28 percent of their nurses certified at the start of fiscal year 2013 and ended
the fiscal year with a 36 percent certification rate.
CERTIFIED
TOTAL % OF CERTIFIED
NURSES
NURSES
NURSES
NICU level 2
32
78
41%
NICU level 3
47
186
25%
Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women
NICU
47
96
49%
NICU Vascular Access Team
5
9
56%
TOTAL
131
369
36%
FY2013 DATA
