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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...