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The breadth of knowledge for the medical-surgical nurse is extensive.[...]medicalsurgical certification is the recognition of competence and expertise of individual nurses in medical-surgical nursing specialty practice.Here is a list of what is covered in the issue: * Med-Surg Nurses Never Live the Same Day Twice: An introduction and overview of the medical-surgical nursing specialty (Hess, 2018). * Med-Surg Nursing Carries a Unique Appeal: AMSN Past President Kathy Lattavo and President-Elect Robin Hertel discuss the specialty and why they chose medical-surgical nursing (Hilton, 2018a). * Discharge Planning Starts at Admission: AMSN Secretary Andie Melendez, Treasurer Marisa Streelman, and Director Michele George discuss safe transitions, patient education, and hospital readmission penalties (Jakucs, 2018a). * You Have to Be Flexible to Be in Med-Surg Nursing: AMSN President Linda Yoder explores the rewards and challenges of the specialty and AMSN initiatives in a Q & A (Petrella Lynch, 2018). * Care Coordinators Go By Many Names and Wear Many Hats: MSNCB Director Cathryn Kelly discusses the care coordination and transition management (CCTM®) role and patient advocacy (Jakucs, 2018b). * Careers for Med-Surg Nurses Stretch Beyond Hospital Walls: AMSN President-Elect Robin Hertel describes the many - and vital - roles of medical-surgical nurses who practice in a wide variety of settings (Hilton, 2018b).In another article, Expertise Helps Nurses Stand Out - Nursing Shortage or Not (Frellick, 2018), nurse researcher and workforce expert Peter Buerhaus advises medicalsurgical nurses to educate themselves about value-based medicine and also let their employers know their own value, something that is often not taught in nursing school.
One of great things about being President of AMSN is that I have the opportunity to share my thoughts and concerns with you about current issues in health care, nursing, and specifically, medicalsurgical nursing. As you know, we are challenged consistently to be recognized as a specialty although medicalsurgical nursing became a recognized specialty by the American Nurses Association in 1991. This recognition begins in the educational process; it is important that nursing faculty view medical-surgical nursing as a specialty rather than a mere stepping stone to something else more easily perceived to be a specialty, such as intensive care. However, one of the hurdles medical-surgical nurses face first is that some of our medical-surgical colleagues don't view medical-surgical nursing as a specialty. If we don't believe it, then how can we get others to believe it?
Certification Is an Important Indicator of Expertise
I don't need to tell you the healthcare environment is becoming increasingly complex and the medical-surgical nurse needs to have command of a broad range of knowledge as well as a depth within certain subspecialties. As registered nurses (RNs) progress from novices to experts, they often seek recognition of their competence and expertise in a practice specialty. Specialization and certification are especially important in light of the responsibilities assumed by the RN. Certification is the formal recognition of the specialized knowledge, skills, and experience demonstrated by the achievement of standards identified by a nursing specialty to promote optimal health outcomes. Individuals earn certification after meeting defined criteria (American Board of Nursing Specialties, 2005). The Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) is a specialty certifying body responsible for development and administration of the certified medical-surgical registered nurse (CMSRN®) certification program. As the accumulation of knowledge and pace of technological development accelerate, all nurses are challenged to maintain professional competence. The breadth of knowledge for the medical-surgical nurse is extensive. Therefore, medicalsurgical certification is the recognition of competence and expertise of individual nurses in medical-surgical nursing specialty practice. This is important because certification also demonstrates a level of professional commitment by the nurse. Many of you who are certified do not get paid more and do not have your certification and recertification costs reimbursed. However, being a certified nurse is a matter of professional pride! More needs to be done to increase awareness of certification among our healthcare peers and consumers. We need to speak up and be proud of the fact that we are medicalsurgical nurses and we are certified nurses.
Shining a Light on Medical-Surgical Nursing
A recent Nurse.com digital issue focused on medicalsurgical nursing (OnCourse Learning Corp., 2018). This is a terrific issue and many AMSN and MSNCB leaders contributed to the discussion. Not only will you see some familiar names and faces, but you'll also feel proud of your practice and gain an even deeper appreciation of the role nurses have had in improving patient care and transforming today's healthcare system. Here is a list of what is covered in the issue:
* Med-Surg Nurses Never Live the Same Day Twice: An introduction and overview of the medical-surgical nursing specialty (Hess, 2018).
* Med-Surg Nursing Carries a Unique Appeal: AMSN Past President Kathy Lattavo and President-Elect Robin Hertel discuss the specialty and why they chose medical-surgical nursing (Hilton, 2018a).
* Discharge Planning Starts at Admission: AMSN Secretary Andie Melendez, Treasurer Marisa Streelman, and Director Michele George discuss safe transitions, patient education, and hospital readmission penalties (Jakucs, 2018a).
* You Have to Be Flexible to Be in Med-Surg Nursing: AMSN President Linda Yoder explores the rewards and challenges of the specialty and AMSN initiatives in a Q & A (Petrella Lynch, 2018).
* Care Coordinators Go By Many Names and Wear Many Hats: MSNCB Director Cathryn Kelly discusses the care coordination and transition management (CCTM®) role and patient advocacy (Jakucs, 2018b).
* Careers for Med-Surg Nurses Stretch Beyond Hospital Walls: AMSN President-Elect Robin Hertel describes the many - and vital - roles of medical-surgical nurses who practice in a wide variety of settings (Hilton, 2018b).
In her article, Language Remains a Barrier for Some, Nancy Brent (2018) described challenges that language can present to healthcare providers, and cites AMSN's Health Literacy Position Statement (2012).
In another article, Expertise Helps Nurses Stand Out - Nursing Shortage or Not (Frellick, 2018), nurse researcher and workforce expert Peter Buerhaus advises medicalsurgical nurses to educate themselves about value-based medicine and also let their employers know their own value, something that is often not taught in nursing school.
Be a Voice for Your Practice: Share the Issue!
Be sure to bookmark the issue (https://resources. nurse.com/med-surg-nursing), email it to your colleagues, and share on social media because it gives your CMSRN® or CCCTM® certification, AMSN, and MSNCB some well-deserved attention. I have shared this issue many times already with colleagues. In closing, I want to emphasize that I am continually proud of the work medical-surgical nurses do each day. Your work is hard and complex, and I often speak to patients and families who talk about the wonderful care they received from their nurses. Please know you are appreciated! ESES
REFERENCES
Academy of Medical-Surgical Nursing (AMSN). (2012). Health literacy. Retreived from https://www.amsn.org/practice-resources/positionstatements/archive/health-literacy#utm_source=digita%20edition &utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=healthcare-med-surg &utm_content=2018
American Board of Nursing Specialties. (2005). A position statement on the value of nursing certification. Birmingham, AL: Author.
Brent, N. (2018). Language remains a barrier for some. Retrieved from https://resources.nurse.com/med-surg-nursing-language-remainsbarrier
Frellick, M. (2018). Expertise helps nurses stand out - nursing shortage or not. Retrieved from https://resources.nurse.com/expertisehelps-med-surg-nurses-stand-out
Hess, R.G. (2018). Med-surg nurses never live the same day twice. Retrieved from https://resources.nurse.com/med-surg-nursesnever-live-sa
Hilton, L. (2018a). Med-surg nursing carries a unique appeal. Retrieved from https://resources.nurse.com/med-surg-nursing-carriesunique-appeal
Hilton, L. (2018b). Careers for med-surg nurses stretch beyond hospital walls. Retrieved from https://resources.nurse.com/med-surg-nursescareers-stretch-beyond-hospitals
Jakucs, C. (2018a). Discharge planning starts at admission. Retrieved from https://resources.nurse.com/discharge-planning-startsadmission
Jakucs, C. (2018b). Care coordinators go by many names and wear many hats. Retrieved from https://resources.nurse.com/med-surgnursing-care-coordinators-wear-many-hats
OnCourse Learning Corp, (2018). Grow with us! Explore if med-surg nursing is the right fit. Retrieved from https://resources.nurse.com/ med-surg-nursing
Petrella Lynch, J. (2018). You have to be flexible to be in med-surg nursing. Retrieved from https://resources.nurse.com/you-have-to-beflexible-to-practice-med-surg-nursi
Copyright Anthony J. Jannetti, Inc. Jul/Aug 2018