Saturday, July 17, 2010

certs & joiners

I'm looking at different certifications and am now pretty overwhelmed. ACLS seems to be the best bet - PALS, too. What other certs are there out there that you've found worthwhile, especially as a new nurse?

Who's joined ANA or any other organizations? I'm just curious, as to the benefits.

3 comments:

E.J. said...

ACLS is good. With PALS, you might consider PEARS first. At the training center where I teach PALS, a lot of our adult-only nurses, new grads, and pedi non-ICU nurses tend to struggle with PALS. In PEARS, the focus is primarily on recognizing a problem and only the immediate interventions.

Much more than certs, a focus on interview skills helped me get my first job.

I'm now a member of a specialty organization, but I haven't been convinced of the benefits of ANA membership.

When you do get a job, make sure that you have malpractice insurance coverage through NSO.

Nursapalooza said...

ACLS is absolutely the best one to get. I also did the ECG cert (for heart monitors) that interviewers really like.

Order & Chaos said...

Thanks for the tips! I'd seen PEARS when I was looking up PALS.

And yes, need to update the insurance with NSO. I have it under student still and will change it, pronto!