ANCC awards first National Healthcare Disaster Certifcation™
The new American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) National Healthcare Disaster Certification™ is the first interprofessional certification designed to verify the competence of the individual disaster healthcare professional. ANCC has awarded its first National Healthcare Disaster Certification to Wesley L. Marsh, Jr., MBA, CCHW, FAEM, CHEP, NHDP-BC, system safety/life safety and emergency manager at Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville, Florida.
“We recognized the need to develop a customized credential that would validate the expertise of national healthcare disaster professionals,” said ANCC Director of Certification Marianne Horahan, MBA, MPH, RN, NEA-BC, CPHQ.
Obtaining the certification was a key next step in Marsh’s professional development because, according to him, “it validates your mastery of specific skills and demonstrates that you have the knowledge to perform your job effectively, which in turn improves patient and staff satisfaction.”
“I was very impressed with its thoroughness,” Marsh said of the exam he was required to pass in order to be awarded his credential (NHDP-BC). “It covered a broad base of topics, especially in terms of healthcare disaster decision making.”
Before his current position, Marsh worked for the Florida Department of Health as a Strategic National Stockpile, Cities Readiness Initiative, and Medical Reserve Corps coordinator. He currently serves as vice president of the First Coast Disaster Council and is Medical Service Corps Officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
“The ANCC National Healthcare Disaster Certification immediately communicates competence,” Horahan noted. “It assures employers and the public that healthcare disaster professionals have mastered an interprofessional body of knowledge and skills related to all phases of the disaster cycle.”
Actively licensed individuals, including RNs, APRNs, emergency management professionals, public and behavioral health specialists, social workers, and other healthcare workers are candidates for ANCC National Healthcare Disaster Certification. Candidates must have experience in an actual disaster or disaster exercise and a certificate of completion for at least one Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency management course.
“This certification will support the mission and vision of the hospital,” which was recognized as an ANCC Magnet® Hospital last year, said Joanne S. Hoertz, MSN, RN, CRRN, senior vice president of nursing at Brooks Rehabilitation.
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What’s New in OJIN?
Check out the May 2017 issue of OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, which features five new articles on the topic of Healthcare Reform: Nurses Impact Policy. As noted in the overview and summary, the articles “demonstrate the breadth of settings and discovery that nurses experience and advocate for as they strive to make healthcare reform equitable, affordable, and accessible to all members of society.”
Read new and past OJIN articles.
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