National Certified Nurses Day

As we celebrate National Certified Nurses Day and our 41.26% of WakeMed Nurses who hold specialty certifications, I want to share some resources that can support your own certification journey and thank the WakeMed Foundation and employee donors who help support these efforts each year.

Because of dollars donated to the Helton Scholarship Endowment & Education Fund, since 2012 the WakeMed Foundation has been able to impact more than 580 employees by providing exam preparation and training support for groups of staff seeking to pass a certification exam.

The profession of nursing recognizes exemplary expertise in many areas of practice through national certification. Certification demonstrates skill mastery, accumulation of knowledge, and a standard of excellence. Every March 19th, Certified Nurses Day is celebrated worldwide to honor nurses who earn and maintain the highest credentials in their specialty. I am proud of the 1,352 WakeMed nurses that have one or more national certifications. This is an astounding 41% of our nursing workforce. I am also proud of the nurses who have committed to taking the next step and are pursuing a certification this year. – Cindy Boily, , MSN, RN – Senior Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer

Departments Supported by the WakeMed Foundation

This year, the Helton Awardee program, administered by the WakeMed Foundation, is supporting employees from the following departments who are seeking certifications:

Trauma Services: Pursing the Certified Specialist in Trauma Registries certification
Rehab Hospital Nursing: Pursing the Certified Brain Injury Specialist certification
System-wide (5A, 5C, 6C & 1A): Pursuing the Medical-Surgical Nursing certification
Operating Room (Raleigh & Cary): Pursuing the Operating Room Nursing certification
System-wide (2E, 2C Rehab & Adult Acute Care Services): Pursuing the Gerontological Nursing Exam certification
System-wide (Emergency Departments & Mobile Critical Care Units): Pursuing the Certified Emergency Nursing certification
Labor & Delivery (Cary, Raleigh & North): Pursuing an Inpatient Obstetric Nursing Exam certification

Becoming a Certified Nurse at WakeMed

If you are a WakeMed nurse who is interested in learning more about preparing for a certification exam, please review the information on the Learning & Development page of MyWakeMed or contact Harriet Stephenson, Director of WakeMed Nursing Education Department, Shelia Veeder, Nursing Education or Martha Midgette, WakeMed Foundation.

About National Certified Nurses Day

Certified Nurses Day is an annual worldwide event dedicated to celebrating certification as a means to ensure high standards of patient care and to promote continuing excellence in the nursing profession. Initially proposed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the day honors the birthday of the late Margretta “Greta” Madden Styles, an international pioneer of nursing certification who designed the first comprehensive study of nurse credentialing.