Employers

When you invest in your nursing staff’s certification, it shows that you are committed to providing quality care. This can help you recruit and retain experienced nurses and enhance your public image.

Certification can also help you gain distinction. Agencies such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program™, and others consider certification when they give accreditation or recognition.

Here are a few ways you can encourage your staff to seek certification:

• Join the ONCC FreeTake® Certification Program. Help your nurses earn certification the no-risk way. Nurses in the program get a free retake if they don't pass.
• Distribute certification test registration manuals and personal encouragement. Distribute the Certification Registration Manual and personally encourage them to pursue certification. Encouragement from a supervisor or coworker can be a great motivator to pursue certification. Request materials from ONCC. Create an environment that encourages studying.
  Email nurses with details on upcoming review courses or test study groups.
• Provide financial assistance for nurses to pursue certification. Pay for test fees and expenses, provide time off to take the test, pay for a review course, or provide a library of study materials.
• Reward certified nurses. Give certified nurses a monetary bonus for certification. Provide pay differentials for certified nurses. 
• Incorporate certification into the career ladder. Require certification for advancement to selected positions and host in-service programs to distribute information about certification to your staff.
• Offer personal recognition.
  • Present certified nurses with an ONCC credential pin.
  • Send a letter of congratulations from the CEO or other administrator.
  • Add certified nurses' credentials to their name badges and business cards
• Recognize certified nurses publicly.
  • Display certified nurses' certificates on the unit.
  • Publish an announcement in your facility newsletter.
  • Send press releases to local newspapers.
  • Host a special event for certified nurses on Certified Nurses Day or during Nurse's Week.
  • Display the names of certified nurses on a plaque in the unit.
  • Nominate a certified nurse for an ONCC Certified Nurse of the Year Award.
• Get a Free Plaque to Recognize Your Oncology Certified Staff. ONCC offers a special recognition plaque to oncology patient care settings in which the majority (greater than 50%) of the professional nursing staff are ONCC certified. Institutions that receive this plaque are also recognized in the ONCC News. Supporting certification is a wise investment that will benefit your staff, your facility, and you.