If you have been in practice as a Nurse Practitioner for a few years and weighing your recertification options, you should consider the many benefits of getting a second certification. While completing a second certification is slightly more work – what with studying and passing another certification exam – it has many benefits, too. Dual-certified Nurse Practitioners are in high demand, and the extra expertise from a second certification can lead to better outcomes for patients.
Two Reasons a Second Certification can Advance your Nurse Practitioner Career
A second certification can greatly benefit a Nurse Practitioner’s career. From being more qualified for certain positions to getting a more lucrative compensation package, dual certification has many rewards for its extra work.
How to Move Up as a Nurse Practitioner
It should come as no surprise that the healthcare industry is experiencing a huge rise in demand right now. There simply are not enough practitioners to cover the gap between supply and demand. What this means is that highly trained professionals, such as Nurse Practitioners, are being asked to fill multiple roles.
Dual-certified Nurse Practitioners are extremely sought after. If you are looking to move up in your career, grow into more responsibility, or achieve a leadership position, a second certification may be the way to get there. When considering a second certification, look into job opportunities that interest you and consider where you would like to be in five years. A second certification in your specialty of choice can open many doors and be the key to getting to the next phase of your career.
As a well-informed Nurse Practitioner, you have likely noticed that the healthcare industry is really prioritizing certain topics right now. Mental health has been a huge area of focus, considering the impact of mental health conditions on physical health and looking at a more holistic approach to well-being. A second certification in Psychiatric Mental Health (PMH), for example, would set up Nurse Practitioners to meet current demand and gain expertise in a field that is quickly rising in popularity. You may end up being one of the few PMH Nurse Practitioners in your office. This extra expertise can land you a leadership or supervisory role where you can provide another perspective in clinical practice.
Pay Raise Opportunities for Nurse Practitioners
Another consideration in favor of a second certification is your pay and benefits. Nurse Practitioners are paid on a sliding scale, with more compensation offered for more years of experience and greater qualifications. This means that displaying more education and expertise through a second certification can garner you a higher salary and a more competitive benefits package.
For example, another currently trending field is chronic disease management. More than one in ten American adults has been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. This is a public health concern and a particularly important field of study for Nurse Practitioners. A second certification in such a field can make Nurse Practitioners more appealing to potential employers, especially in certain practice settings like primary care where disease prevention and management are a priority focus. Employers are willing to invest in key areas that can provide maximum benefit to patients. As a Nurse Practitioner with a second certification in an important field like Diabetes Management, you may be just that investment.
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Three Ways a Second Certification Can Improve Patient Satisfaction and Outcomes
If all these career benefits have not convinced you yet, also consider how a second certification can improve the quality of care you are able to provide to your patients. Of course, Nurse Practitioners are already highly qualified and able to provide care to patients of all ages and needs. Still, there are many certification exams offered by a handful of certifying bodies. This means there are plenty of opportunities to broaden your skill set and deepen your knowledge in a particular field.
Understand Your Focus Population
Most Nurse Practitioners start out by taking the more generalized Family Nurse Practitioner exam for their initial certification. If you have, too, but now find yourself working in a more specialized role – say in a geriatric facility or neonatal care unit – you may decide to re-certify with an exam that better matches your practice area.
Studying for this exam will allow you to commit to memory the concepts that are most important for your day-to-day work. You can take time to dig into the conditions and pathologies of your specific population. This may make your daily job a little easier, as you will not have to go searching for answers quite as often. It can also improve patient outcomes since you will have more experience studying cases similar to those of your patients.
Build Expertise in a Key Condition
There are specialized certifications available to recertifying Nurse Practitioners in topics such as Diabetes management, chronic pain management, public health, and more. These specialty examinations give Nurse Practitioners more information about the complexities around these issues, allowing Nurse Practitioners to turn that knowledge into more personalized care that meets their patients’ specific needs. Any of these topics can allow Nurse Practitioners to provide better care and achieve better patient outcomes.
Provide More Patient-Centered Care
You can also choose a second certification in a specialty that will allow you to provide more comprehensive, well-rounded care. If your first certification was in Adult Primary Care, pick a second certification in Gerontology or Psychiatric or Public Health. This will give you a different point of view from which to consider your patients’ needs.
A second certification is not just for someone looking to switch clinical settings or roles, although it can be very helpful for that, too. It can be a great way to allow Nurse Practitioners to provide more holistic, patient-centered care. With two certifications, you will have multiple lenses through which to view not just a patient’s conditions, but also the lifestyle factors and public health concerns that impact their conditions. This is what holistic, individualized care is all about.
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