ANCC vs. MSNCB: What Is The Best Option For You?
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The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) are the two most important credentialing bodies to consider when pursuing Medical-Surgical Nursing certification. To guarantee that you have the skills and information necessary to offer patients safe and effective care, these two groups administer certification exams. We have produced a summary of distinctions between the two test families to assist you in making your decision.
Med-Surg Certification: ANCC vs. MSNCB
The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) is the main certification body for nurses in the United States and is a division of the American Nurses Association (ANA). Nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse executives, and nurse educators are just a few of the nursing specialties for which the ANCC provides certification programs.
On the other hand, the MSNCB (Medical-Surgical Nursing Certifying Board) is a distinct certifying body that provides certification only for medical-surgical nurses. The Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN) certificate is the name of this certification.
What is a Medical-Surgical Nurse?
Care for adult patients in a variety of clinical settings is the focus of medical-surgical nursing. The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses is a professional association for nurses who work in the field of medicine and surgery.
Responsibilities of a Med-Surg Nurse
Patients admitted to the hospital with both medical (nonsurgical) and surgical disorders are the focus of the treatment provided by med-surg nurses. They advocate for and educate their patients, with a primary emphasis on disease management, prevention, and promotion. Med-Surg nurses have a lot on their plates, as they are often responsible for the care of multiple patients at once and must coordinate their care with other members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team.
Core Skills of a Med-Surg Nurse
A good med-surg nurse will have the ability to think critically, an extensive understanding of diseases and body systems, strong managerial skills, and the resilience to remain calm in high-stress situations. You may be responsible for up to five patients in a hectic hospital setting, so the ability to multitask and set priorities is essential. Essential abilities include:
- Evaluation of patient condition and monitoring of recovery.
- Starting intravenous lines, inserting and removing catheters, changing bandages, and giving medications are all examples of nursing duties.
- Noting down signs and reactions as well as developments.
- Finding and handling crises with skill.
- Discharge instructions and patient/family communication regarding treatment received.
Med-Surg Nurse Certifications
There are two certification options available for medical-surgical nursing. Both are from respected organizations in the nursing profession: the ANCC and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) grants the RN-BC credential, whereas the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB) grants the CMSRN credential. To obtain either of these certificates, you must first pass a certification exam.
The ANCC Medical-Surgical Nursing Board certification examination provides a valid and reliable assessment of the entry-level clinical knowledge and skills of registered nurses in the medical-surgical specialty.
How Travel Nurses Benefit From a Med-Surg Nursing Certification
When you add credentials beyond a nursing degree to your resume, you boost your chances of getting hired.
Even if you didn’t focus on Med-Surg during nursing school, you could still qualify for travel assignments in this field by earning a Medical-Surgical certificate and gaining experience working as a Med-Surg floor nurse.
There are constant opportunities in the medical and surgical fields, making med-surg travel assignments the most prevalent sort of job offered. Certification can make you a more marketable candidate and provide you bargaining power when it comes time to negotiate your salary and other employment circumstances.
What Are The Options to Become a Med-Surg Certified Nurse?
There are several paths you can take to become a Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN), commonly known as a Med-Surg Certified Nurse. The following are all the options you can take:
Confer all necessary qualifications
You need to be a registered nurse with at least two years of full-time experience working in a medical-surgical setting in order to be considered for CMSRN certification.
Study
Studying on your own or enrolling in one of several available refresher courses are both good ways to get ready for the CMSRN certification exam. Assessment, planning, and evaluation of patient care, pharmacology, and disease processes are only a few of the many medical-surgical nursing-related topics that will be tested.
Do the test!
You can sign up to take the CMSRN exam once you are confident in your readiness to do so. There are a total of 150 multiple-choice questions on the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board’s (MSNCB) paper-and-pencil exam.
Preserve Credentials
In order to keep your CMSRN certification active after you’ve passed the exam, you’ll need to do things like enroll in additional training every five years and retake the exam.
Think About Getting a Higher Degree
Once you have earned your CMSRN credential, you may decide to specialize in a subspecialty in medical-surgical nursing, like oncology or critical care. Such credentials might be earned from a number of different sources.
To recap, to become a Med-Surg Certified Nurse, one must fulfill eligibility requirements, prepare for and pass the CMSRN exam, keep their certification current, and maybe pursue advanced certification in a subspecialty of medical-surgical nursing.
ANCC vs. MSNCB: What Are The Differences?
One of the main differences between ANCC and MSNCB is the types of certification programs they offer. While ANCC offers a wide range of certification programs for various nursing specialties, MSNCB focuses solely on medical-surgical nursing.
Another difference is the eligibility requirements for certification. In addition to holding an active RN license, ANCC requires a certain level of education and experience, while MSNCB requires that nurses have at least two years of experience in medical-surgical nursing before being eligible for certification.
Finally, the certification exams offered by ANCC and MSNCB differ in terms of content and format. ANCC exams are computer-based and cover a wide range of nursing topics, while the MSNCB exam is a paper-and-pencil exam that specifically focuses on medical-surgical nursing.
What to Expect On ANCC Med-Surg Certification Exams
First, we’ll tackle the basic qualification exams. There are a total of 150 scored questions covering a wide variety of material on the ANCC medical-surgical certification exam. These include assessment and diagnosis, planning and implementation, evaluation, and the professional role of the Med-Surg nurse. The professional function of the Med-Surg nurse, assessment, and diagnosis, as well as the evaluation of plans, interventions, and outcomes, all fall under this category.
The passing grade is 350 out of a possible 500; therefore, you need to do better than that.
The test is difficult and might take up to 3.5 hours to finish. Practice tests are the greatest way to be ready for the exam, but there are other factors to consider as well.
Try to learn something from your studies rather than just memorizing information. Keep in mind that the test’s significance lies in its promise of improved patient care for those who prove themselves to be competent. Think of this exam as practice for your future career, not just another quiz. Therefore, rather than cramming the material into short-term memory immediately before the test, you should focus on genuinely comprehending and internalizing the material.
What to Expect On MSNCB Med-Surg Certification Exams
The format of MSNCB’s med-surg certification exam is unique. The test’s questions are organized into sections covering a wide range of bodily systems, such as:
- Gastrointestinal
- Pulmonary
- Renal
- Cardiovascular
- Diabetes
- GU
- Immuno
- Reproductive
- Musculoskeletal
- Neuro. Hematological
This test only has 125 questions instead of the usual 150. Exams for the MSNCB certification in medical-surgical nursing can last up to four hours. This test only has 125 questions instead of the usual 150. The MSNCB moves at a more relaxed pace than the ANCC equivalent, but both exams are as challenging and must be passed with flying colors. A passing score on the MSNCB exam is a score of at least 71% (or 95).
Which Med-Surg Nursing Certification is Right For You?
You may learn a lot about the benefits and drawbacks of each certification option by visiting the MSNCB website. Both nursing certifications have a five-year lifespan and require candidates to have worked as RNs for at least two years prior to taking the exam. However, several distinctions might influence your choice.
To begin, there is a price difference between the ANCC version and the one that does not lead to the Registered Nurse-Board Certified (RNBC) credential. Additionally, you must have worked at least 30 contact hours every three years to qualify. This increased level of scrutiny is indicative of a more distinguished certification.
But there’s a chance that’s not totally correct. The MSNCB version, leading to Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN) status, has the support of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses.
In a nutshell, the ANCC tests are a popular option for those seeking general certification. Exams for the MSNCB are more narrowly focused. This has the potential to make one feel special (and hence more marketable in the job market), but it’s also nice to have the adaptability that the ANCC exam offers. Before choosing a specific route toward your Med-Surg certification, give some thought to your long-term employment goals.
Are you looking for a Med Surg career option? Check out our job opportunities at Stability Healthcare and start a new step in your career!
