Professional Issues: Advancing The Specialty Flashcards
Official journal of AAOHN
The AAOHN Journal
Major roles and responsibilities of AAOHN
- Defines the scope of practice and sets standards for occupational health nursing practice
- Develops standards of professional conduct
- Promotes the health and safety of work and community environments
- Promotes and provides continuous learning opportunities
- Advances profession by encouraging research
- Advocates for occupational health nursing in business, government and other professional areas
- Responds to issues critical to the practice
AAOHN’s vision
Work and community environments will be healthy and safe
AAOHN’s mission
Ensure that occupational and environmental health nurses are the authority on health, safety, productivity and disability management for worker populations
Activities that allow AAOHN to achieve its mission
- Advancing profession by offering professional leadership and development, networking, career opportunities
- Protecting the profession by advocating for legislation, regulations, and public policy
- Guiding profession by providing tools to address distinct role
- Promoting the profession through a marketing and public relations campaign
AAOHN tools to guide the profession
- Code of ethics
- Standards of practice
- Competencies
- Self-assessment
- Peer reviewed journal
- Monthly newsletters
- Weekly e-news
- Current up-to-date website
Resources available on AAOHN’s website
- Networking (discussion forum, member directory)
- Self assessment tool and foundation blocks
- CE models, advisories, practice questions
- Mentor partnership programs
- Public policy resources
- Career resources
- Advocacy tools
Resources included in AAOHN newsletter and weekly e-news
- Updates on events, products, services
- Briefs on governmental issues
- Information on practice issues
- Resources for career building
Basis of any process used in credentialing
Obtaining and maintaining high-quality nursing care for the public good
Credentialing is a complex process intended to….
Define levels of practice and associated knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies
Credentialing
An umbrella term that includes processes that assure clients, consumers, and the public that a practitioner has the qualifications and competencies necessary to practice nursing according to pre-established standards
Credentialing process may require…
- Registration
- Certification
- Licensure
- Accreditation
Credentialing programs
Aid the profession by encouraging and recognizing professional and institutional achievement
Credentialing mechanisms affecting occupational and environmental health nurses include…
Licensure and certification of individuals and accreditation of educational and health care organizations
Certification
The formal recognition of the specialized knowledge, skills and experience demonstrated by the achievement of standards identified by a nursing speciality to promote optimal health outcomes
According to the American Nurses Credentialing Center certification….
- Validates nurses specialty knowledge
- Provides an opportunity for the certified nurse to demonstrate his or her professional competence and to meet nationally recognized standards in a nursing specialty
- Is a testimonial of the certificant’s dedication to nursing, bringing greater accountability to the profession
Major credentialing processes
- Accreditation
- Academic degree
- Licensure
- Certification
Accreditation
A voluntary, self-regulatory process by which governmental, non-governmental and voluntary associations or other statutory bodies grant formal recognition to programs or institutions that meet stated quality criteria
American Board of Nursing Specialties
- established 1991
- serves as the accrediting board for specialty nursing certification programs
- ABNS
National Organization for Competency Assurance
- established 1977
- sets quality standards for credentialing organizations
- NOCA
National Commission for Certifying Agencies
- NCCA
- accreditation body of NOCA
Organizations with accredited examination programs have indicated that ABNS accreditation:
- Gives more legitimacy and prestige to the credential and specialty
- Reflects program has attained highest standards
- Prevents certification program in a positive manner
- Allows ABNS to satisfy employer and regulatory requirements
- Promotes recruitment and retention
- Offers opportunity to gain valuable feedback on the rigor and value of the examination
- Useful when responding to candidates concerns or questions about certification and examination policies and procedures
- Only accreditation offered specifically for nursing certification
- Reinforces ability to maintain excellence by continuing to meet standards
- Provides structure and guidelines for the process
- Provides specialty practice with credibility as a nursing speciality
- Makes examinations legally defensible by ensuring they are of the highest quality from a validity and reliability standpoint
Academic degree
Is awarded to an individual upon the completion of pre established requirements in a field of study
An academic degree forms the basis for…
Nursing practice and is a fundamental pre-requisite to entry into practice through licensure
Licensure
The process by which an agency of government grants permission to engage in a given profession or occupation
Granting a license signifies….
That the bearer of the license has attained the minimal degree of competency in a field
The process of licensure intends to….
Ensure that the public health, safety and welfare will be reasonably protected
Licensure authorizes the bearer….
Use of a particular title or designation
Certification
A voluntary process that involves the formal recognition of specialized knowledge, skills and experience demonstrated by achievement of standards identified by a nursing specialty to promote optimal health outcomes
American Board for Occupational Health Nurses
- ABOHN
- independent, autonomous, nursing speciality certification board
ABOHN is the sole certifying body for….
Occupational and environmental health nursing in the US
ABOHN certification program is accredited by…
- American Board of Nursing Specialities (ABNS)
2. National Certification Credentialing Agency (NCCA) of the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA)
ABOHN’s role in occupational and environmental health nursing includes:
- Setting criteria and standards for certification
- Establishing sound policies and procedures for maintaining certification
- Using the definitions and standards of occupational and environmental health nursing practice established by AAOHN
- Providing a peer review certification that attests that certified occupational and environmental health nurses have met standards for knowledge, experience and education in the speciality
- Basing the content of examinations on independent research that validates current practice in occupational and environmental health nursing
Core certification in occupational health includes:
- Certified Occupational Health Nurse (COHN)
2. Certified Occupational Health Nurse Specialist (COHN-S)