What Do All Those Letters Mean? Nursing Credentials Explained!

Nurses have so many important duties, developing nursing plans of care, implementing nursing interventions and other treatments and communicating with other health care providers about their patients’ care. They work hard to to ensure the overall health and safety of patients by providing quality care. Nurses also work in many different settings from patient care settings in the hospital, home, ambulatory areas and operating rooms to beyond the bedside in non-direct patient care positions such as leadership positions, quality care support, education, and informatics to name a few.

Nurses list many credentials that represent their licenses, academic degrees, certifications, fellowships and other recognitions. So, what do all those letters after their name mean? Read on as we break down some of the credentials.

License Titles: RN, LPN, APRN

All nurses hold professional licenses through the Board of Nursing which they earn after rigorous education requirements and testing for safe delivery of care:

• RN – Registered Nurse
• LPN – Licensed Practical Nurse
• APRN – Advanced Practice Registered Nurse including CNP, CNS, CRNA

Since these titles are issued by the state and must be maintained through continuing education.

Academic Degrees: AND, BSN, MS, DNP, PhD

Each type of nursing practice requires completion of a formal academic program ranging from four to sixteen years. To work at Nationwide Children’s, nurses must graduate from a nationally accredited school or college that teaches future nurses specific courses to deliver quality and safe care.

• ADN – An entry-level two-year degree for nursing. This is an Associate Degree in Nursing.
• BSN – An entry-level four-year degree for nursing is the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).
• MS/MSN – An additional two to three years Master of Science program (MSN or MS). This degree is where nurses specialize in the advanced practice of specific populations of patients (pediatric, neonatal, etc.) or types of care anesthesia (CRNA).
• DNP/PhD – These terminal nursing degrees have different foci. The DNP or Doctor of Nursing Practice is a two-to-three-year degree post-masters which primarily specializes in enhancing nursing practice through evidence-based practice, quality improvement, policy advocacy, informatics, and leadership. The PhD or Doctor of Philosophy is a minimum of four years post-masters and focuses on the development of new knowledge such as understanding patients' responses to disease and care and the development of new treatments for nursing practice through research methods.

Many nurses have other advanced degrees including Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Public Health (MPH) and Master of Science (MS) in a non-nursing major.

Certifications

There are a wide variety of specialty nursing certifications demonstrating expertise in a specialized population or area of nursing. The most common certification among staff nurses at Nationwide Children’s is the Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN). Our range of nursing expertise is enormous: there are more than 1500 nurses and advanced practice nurses with professional certifications in nearly every practice setting from ambulatory care to critical care to leadership to informatics.

Board certifications for advanced practice nurses (APNs) recognize education and testing at an expert level of practice in a variety of populations and clinical settings mental health, acute care pediatrics, pediatric primary care or family practice. These board certifications and state APRN licensure allow nurses to provide highly specialized and advanced care to patients.

Honorific Credentials

Nationwide Children’s Hospital employs several Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), and this credential designates one of the most prestigious recognitions of nursing achievement. These credentials are awarded to a nurse who has made a significant contribution to the discipline of nursing on a national and/or international level. Nurses who receive this credential are nominated by and inducted into an Academy of other nurse leaders who have been awarded this credential.

Across Nationwide Children’s Hospital, our expert nurses bring their training, education, and experience to help provide the best outcomes for every child. The next time you see a nurse with a long list of credentials, and you are unsure what some of them mean, be sure and ask!