On National Certified Nurses Day and during Nurses Week, members of the Professional Development Core Council had informational tables to promote the attainment of specialty certifications for all nurses. This is an evidence-based practice project implemented by the council with the goal of increasing certification rates at the Oakland Medical Center by 1% in the next year.

Nurses who were interested in pursuing a certification in their specialty area were provided resources about the certification exam, review courses and tuition reimbursement. A “Certification Pledge” was created to encourage nurses to commit to pursuing certification in the following year and included their signature and identification of an initial step toward this goal. These pledges were collected and distributed amongst Professional Development council members to follow up with each nurse.

A literature review was conducted to discover evidence-based practices that support certification. Some of the interventions implemented include monthly follow-up with the nurses to support accountability, provide resources, guidance and mentorship. A roadmap was created as a guide for nurses pursuing advancement in their clinical ladder or towards certification that outlined specific steps and a timeline for each goal. The council has created different workgroups to support this project including outreach to focus on communication and marketing; data and tracking; program development and engagement.