Raising the Bar:
Understanding the Value and
Opportunities of Nursing Certification
Nancy Eisemon RN MPH APRN/CNS CGRN
Objectives
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Differentiate licensure from certification
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List reasons why nurses should certify

Discuss the practice domains used for test
construction
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Discuss how a passing score is determined

List the eligibility requirements for certification and
recertification
Objectives

Differentiate licensure from certification

List reasons why nurses should certify

Discuss the practice domains used for test
construction
Discuss how a passing score is determined


List the eligibility requirements for certification and
recertification
American Board of Certification for
Gastroenterology Nurses
Maintain and improve the knowledge, understanding
and skill of nurses in the fields of gastroenterology
and gastroenterology endoscopy by developing
and administering a certification program.
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Accredited by Accreditation Board for
Specialty Nursing Certification)
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Only accrediting body specifically for nursing
certification
Ensures quality standards specifically for
professional certification
Endorsed by the National Council of State Boards
of Nursing
ABCGN Responsibilities
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Ensures High Quality Exam
Exam Development
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Role delineation
Item Writers Workshop
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Item Review Committee
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Course on Item Development for novice writers
6 member committee-assists in exam assembly
Item Writers Panel
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6 member panel of experienced writers
ABCGN Responsibilities
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Setting the Standard/passing score
Test administration
Reviewing examination statistics
Eligibility Standards for Certification and
continued competency
Licensure - Certification - Certificate
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Licensure (mandatory) = Basic level skills
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Certification (voluntary) = Specific to specialty
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Done once in a lifetime
Demonstrates knowledge and skill in specialty
Documents continued learning by
recertification
Tangible accomplishment
Requires professional experience
RN
CGRN
Certificate (voluntary)
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Educational offering
Indicates completion or attendance of program
with specific focus
Measures knowledge of course content
Does not require professional experience
Certificate
Objectives
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Differentiate licensure from certification
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Licensure – mandatory entry level
Certification – voluntary – requires added professional experience
Certificate – voluntary no professional experience – certificate of attendance

List reasons why nurses should certify

Discuss the practice domains used for test
construction
Discuss how a passing score is determined


List the eligibility requirements for certification and
recertification
Objectives

Differentiate licensure from certification

List reasons why nurses should certify

Discuss the practice domains used for test
construction
Discuss how a passing score is determined


List the eligibility requirements for certification and
recertification
Reasons to Certify - Perspectives
 Hospital
 Higher nurse recruitment and retention
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Job satisfaction/boosts loyalty of nurse
Retention critical at time of nursing shortage
Magnet status – Marketing tool of differentiation
 Certification promoted by JCAHO and ANCC
Public
 Awareness of Certification
 Patient safely
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ABNS – 2011 Research patient outcome study- Link between
Certification and specific patient outcomes.
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National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators
Study Finds Certification May Impact Surgical Patients
New research correlates Direct-Care RN Specialty Certification and
Surgical Patient Outcomes
DENVER, CO (January 6, 2015)—Results from a recent study indicate specialty
nursing certification contributes to improved surgical patient outcomes in
hospitals nationwide. Published in the November 2014 issue of AORN Journal,
the peer-reviewed journal of the Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses
(AORN), the research was conducted by the staff at the National Database of
Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) and the University of Kansas. It was sponsored
by the Competency & Credentialing Institute (CCI).
This is not the first research assessing the potential impacts of nursing specialty
certification. Previous research indicated a positive correlation between certified
nurses and a lower frequency of falls, as well as decreased length of hospital stays
and decreased odds of adjusted 30-day mortality.
Reasons to Certify
- Perspectives
Professional
ABNS Study October, 2005
20 certification org. 11,724 respondents
TOP FIVE
 Enhances professional credibility
 Enhances feeling of professional accomplishment
 Provides personal satisfaction
 Provides professional challenge
 Provides evidence of professional commitment
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*
Objectives

Differentiate licensure from certification

List reasons why nurses should certify
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Higher recruitment
Job satisfaction
Safer care by Certified nurses
Personal marketing tool for nurses
Personal value
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Discuss the practice domains used for test construction
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Discuss how a passing score is determined

List the eligibility requirements for certification and recertification
*
Objectives

Differentiate licensure from certification

List reasons why nurses should certify

Discuss the practice domains used for test
construction

Discuss how a passing score is determined

List the eligibility requirements for certification and
recertification
Role Delineation Study
Development of Practice Domains
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Done every 5 years
Provides the foundation or BLUE PRINT for constructing
a valid examination
New RD Completed in June 2012
Evaluation of the job by experts in field
New Exam using New Blue Print October 2012
Examination Content 175 Questions
(25 experimental or pretest)
35.00%
34.50%
34.00%
33.50%
33.00%
32.50%
32.00%
31.50%
31.00%
30.50%
30.00%
General Nursing Care
Gastroenterological
Procedures
Patient Care
Interventions
48
50
52
Practice Domains
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General Nursing Care
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Gastroenterology Procedures
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3 Tasks – Assessment, monitoring, educating
3 Tasks – Assisting with GI procedures, assisting
with non-endoscopic procedures, performing nonendoscopic procedures
Patient Care Interventions
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3 Tasks – Emergencies, wellness, administering
medications and fluids
Objectives
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Differentiate licensure from certification
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List reasons why nurses should certify

Discuss the practice domains used for test construction
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General Nursing Care
Gastroenterology Procedures
Patient Care Interventions
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Discuss how a passing score is determined
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List the eligibility requirements for certification and recertification
*
Objectives

Differentiate licensure from certification

List reasons why nurses should certify

Discuss the practice domains used for test
construction

Discuss how a passing score is determined

List the eligibility requirements for certification and
recertification
How is ABCGN Involved in setting
the Passing Score ?
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Panel of Judges selected
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10 certified GI Nurses representing the diversity of the profession
Judge each item on the exam determining minimal
acceptable passing point
Facilitated by the psychometrician
Scores are based on what the examinee knows or can
do, rather than on their relation to other examinees’
performance on the examination.
How is the Passing Score Determined?
Panel of Judges grade each question on how
important or essential the item is for
competent practice. A “Cut Score” and
passing standard is determined.
Cut score is the minimum number
of items needed to pass.
Passing standard is the minimum level
of competency for the nurse to
practice safely - set by ABCGN
Passing score is set after a Role
Delineation, which is every 5 years.
Scoring
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A scaled score is used for this examination.
The passing score cannot be set using a
specific number of questions which are
answered correctly. Instead, a statistical
procedure is performed to ensure that all
forms or editions are equal in content and
level of difficulty. The passing mark for this
exam is 450.
Objectives

Differentiate licensure from certification

List reasons why nurses should certify

Discuss the practice domains used for test
construction

Discuss how a passing score is determined



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Panel of Judges
Cut score – min. # to pass
Passing standard- min. level to practice safely
Passing score- set q5y by ABCGN
List the eligibility requirements for certification and
recertification
Objectives

Differentiate licensure from certification

List reasons why nurses should certify

Discuss the practice domains used for test
construction

Discuss how a passing score is determined

List the eligibility requirements for certification and
recertification
Certification Eligibility
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A current unrestricted Registered Nurse
license in the United States or any of its
territories which use the National Council of
State Boards of Nursing Licensing
Examination (NCLEX) examination as a basis
for determining RN licensure.
An unrestricted RN license, issued by a State
Board of Nursing, means that an RN license
must not have provisions or conditions that
would limit the RN's practice in any way
Certification Eligibility
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Involved in the field of gastroenterology
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Clinical
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Administrative
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Research Education
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Industry (40% clinical practice, education or research)
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2 years full time or its’ part time equivalent/4,000 hours over 5 years
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2 validating signatures of gastroenterology practitioners
Recertification Eligibility
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Certification Period begins with the exam date and ends
on December 31 five years later.
Exam date May
Exam date October
= 5 years and 7 months
= 5 years and 2 months
Taking the exam in May gives you 5 extra months to
accumulate CEU’s for recertification
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Eligibility the same for recertification
Options for Recertification
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CEU’s
Annual Tracking option
5 Year Submission
Retake the Examination
Criteria for Recertification by CEU’s
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100 contact hours required in 5 years
80 must be GI specific
40 of those GI specific must be earned
through approved nursing seminars or
workshops
Objectives

Differentiate licensure from certification

List reasons why nurses should certify

Discuss the practice domains used for test construction

Discuss how a passing score is determined

List the eligibility requirements for certification and recertification
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Current license
GI Practice
2 y full time or part time equivalent of 4,000 hours in 5 years
2 validating signatures
Preparation
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Internet CE courses
Regional SGNA Courses
ASGE courses for nurses
SGNA educational DVD’s
Form study groups
 3-6 people
 Develop a study plan
 6-12 weeks depending on needs
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CGRN
CGRN
Some organizations recommend
6 months of study
ABCGN Library resources 20+
Focus on your weak areas
Step 4 Register
Step 3 Review courses
Step 2 Certification Book
Step 1 Decision to take exam
Study Tips
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Try to study every day- avoid cramming
Pick time when you are most alert – research
shows AM and early PM best
Study one topic at a time
Review what you learned the previous day
Make outlines, develop questions, tape record
what you have difficulty learning, flash cards,
post a topic or drug by the phone,
*If you have test anxiety, consider taking a
course at a local college to alleviate fear.
Testing Options
Computer-based Testing (CBT)
425 sites
Filing and Examinations Dates
•
•
Registration
Examinations
Spring Deadline
February 27, 2015
5:00 PM EST
May 1-31, 2015
Fall Deadline
July 31, 2015
5:00 PM EST
October 1-31, 2015
Exam candidates are notified of their options for testing dates
and sites 30 days prior to the start of the testing window.
There are processing fees for rescheduling, cancelling or roll
over.
Certification Examination Fees
Options
Member
Computer Based Testing $400
Non-member
$485
Recertification Fees
Options
Member
Non-member
Computer Based Testing $400
$485
Continuing Education
Units (CEU’s)
$435
$350
Non-cancelable and non-transferable
Rollover policy in certification handbook
Check List!!
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Make sure you know how to get to
test location and the reporting time
Locate the testing room the night
before
You will only be permitted to bring into the testing room
your ID, pencils, and keys!
Prohibited Items in Exam Room
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Personal items
Medications
Candy
Food and/or drink
Books, pamphlets, and dictionaries
Communication devices of any nature, including cell phones, pagers, PDAs, etc.
Digital watches, calculator watches or watch alarms
Examinee-provided keyboards
Eye glass cases
Highlighter pens, personal writing instruments
Language translation dictionaries
Lanyards, or the cords that allow glasses to hang around a person’s neck
Laptop Computers
Listening devices, including radios or stereos with headphones
Papers of any kind
Purses or backpacks
Recording, copying, and photographic devices
Slide rules, rulers, compasses, and protractors
Stencils, colored overlays
Test Item Examples
Domain I - General Nursing Care
A patient developed severe watery diarrhea with
dehydration after taking a regimen of antibiotics. A
stool test was positive for Clostridium difficile.
Which acute inflammatory disorder of the colon
would be suspected?
a.
b.
c.
d.
pseudomembranous colitis *
amebic colitis
campylobacter enteritis
bacillary dysentery
Domain II
– Gastroenterology Procedures
The nurse is caring for a patient whose
esophagram showed a dilated esophagus with
a“bird’s beak”tapering of the distal esophagus.
Which of the following interventions should be
included in the patient’s plan of care?
a. pneumatic balloon dilation *
b. hydrostatic balloon dilation
c. use of Maloney dilators
d. use of Hurst dilators
Domain III – Patient Care Interventions
The nurse is caring for a patient with a
history of alcoholism who presents with
severe retching and vomiting followed by
excruciating retrosternal chest and
abdominal pain. Which of the following
emergencies should the nurse anticipate?
a.
b.
c.
d.
tracheoesophageal fistula
Boerhaave’s Syndrome *
traction diverticula
esophageal candidiasis
Computer Based Testing
ABCGN Board of Directors
Volunteer Opportunities
President Jeanie Ebbert presenting at
2014 SGNA Leadership Conference
ABCGN Board of Directors
Item Writers Workshop
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First step in learning how
to develop questions for
the exam
Questions are drafted,
edited, and reviewed for
the “ Item Bank”
Exam questions are taken
from the “Item Bank”
Item Review Committee
•Test Plan Classification
•Item Rejection
•Item Revision
•Item Validation
•Exam Assembly
Item Writing Panel
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Writes 20 items annually
Validates items
Classifies items
Meets annually in Chicago
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http://www.abcgn.org
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1-855- 25- ABCGN
or 1-855-252-2246
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Fax 312-673-6723
SUCCESS IS NOT OUT OF YOUR REACH
SET YOUR GOALS HIGH!
DON’T BE ANXIOUS!!
BE PROUD
Get CERTIFIED!
What is your Path to
Certification?
Questions?