The certification through portfolio
process can be used to promote
the rheumatology nurse’s professional
development and performance,
said Sheree C. Carter, PhD, RN,
at the 2015 Annual Conference of the
Rheumatology Nurses Society (RNS).1
In 2014, the American Nurses Credentialing
Center (ANCC) and the
RNS announced plans to develop a
new board certification through portfolio
for rheumatology nursing.2 Nurses certified through the ANCC
portfolio assessment method are regarded
as experts in their specialties.
The portfolio certification process is already used by many professions
and is a practical alternative to paper
testing, which requires a separate
board to oversee the certification process,
said Dr Carter, Assistant Professor
at the University of Alabama Capstone
College of Nursing, Tuscaloosa.
“The portfolio contains material
that illustrates growth and change
over time,” she said. “It has value for
the individual and has value for the
organization.”
As a portable mechanism for evaluating
competencies, the portfolio captures
the lifelong learning journey of a
rheumatology nurse, from novice to
competency to expert, demonstrating
the continuing acquisition of skills,
knowledge, and achievement. The
cost to submit a portfolio is $525 for
nonmembers of the American Nurses
Association (ANA) and $470 for members
of the ANA/RNS.
“The portfolio is renewable every 5
years,” said Dr Carter. “The portfolio is
comprehensive…it gives a rich history
of what and who you are as an individual
nurse. You’re going to be keeping a
journal, and sharing that with the
ANCC and sharing that with others.”
The partial criteria for certification
are:
- RN licensure (active)
- Minimum of 2 years full-time as an RN
- Minimum 1500 clinical hours in rheumatology in the past 3 years
- 30 hours of continuing education in rheumatology/rheumatology nursing in the past 3 years.
The ANCC has a webinar/video on
the certification through portfolio application
requirements. The ANCC has
4 domains for becoming recognized as
a specialty practice nurse, with criteria
under each domain reviewed by an
independent panel, which grades how
the portfolio meets the objectives within
the domains. The 4 domains are (1)
professional development, (2) professional
and ethical nursing practice, (3)
teamwork and collaboration, and (4)
quality and safety.
“We’re going to be telling somebody
in another way exactly what we do,
and how we do it, and what we think
about it, and what we feel about it, and
what we need to be more successful for
our patients,” she said. “If it’s not documented,
it wasn’t done. We have to
document what we do as rheumatology
nurses or it’s not captured.”
For example, self-assessment would
fall under professional development
and would include an assessment of
learning needs and the development
of goals to address these needs. “In
order to do that, we need to go by our
scoping standards of practice and our
core curriculum,” said Dr Carter.
Knowledge and skills acquired in infusion
nursing, research and clinical
trials, education, and pharmacology
are skills specific to rheumatology
nursing that might be documented.
Applicants need to write objectives
and outcomes, describe activities, and
set target dates to complete and review
progress. Nurses must also identify
how they achieved their learning
and provide evidence of change after
reflection on progress made. Records
of continuing education and exemplars
will serve as evidence of professional
development.
Similar documentation would be
required for the other domains, specific
to rheumatology, such as providing
care to patients with rheumatologic
diseases and comorbid conditions;
collaborating with consumers and
healthcare providers to improve access
to and delivery of care, and integrated
services for rheumatology patients;
and raising awareness of
environmental health risks, including
biologic medication storage and handling,
and risk-reduction strategies.
References
- Carter SC. Deep dive: promoting professional development
and performance through the certification
through the portfolio process. Presented at: 2015
Annual Meeting of the Rheumatology Nurses Society;
August 6-8, 2015; Orlando, FL.
- ANCC and RNS announce first board certification in rheumatology nursing [news release]. Silver Spring, MD: Rheumatology Nurses Society; August 7, 2014. http://rnsnurse.org/blog/hot-topics/ancc-and-rnsannounce-first-board-certification-rheumatology-nursing. Updated September 20, 2014. Accessed September 2, 2015.
