The Status of a Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse

Information about Certification

• The status of a Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse(CHPN) serves as a guarantee of the competence of a registered nurse (RN) regarding the care of patients who are at the end of their lives.
• In order to obtain this certification, a registered nurse needs to meet several requirements, including years of experience in the sphere and degree of education (CHPN® candidate handbook, 2020).
• The RN needs to have a valid professional license and verification of required practice hours: 500 hours in palliative care in the past year, or 1000 hours in the past two years (CHPN® candidate handbook, 2020).
• Costs of application and testing are $415 for non-HPNA members and $295 for those who have HPNA membership prior to applying (CHPN® candidate handbook, 2020).

Certification Details

• The examination consists of the analysis of nurses’ability to perform activities that are deemed to be vital to practice for hospice and palliative nurses.
• The RN needs to renew his or her certified status every four years, costs of renewal are $380 for non-HPNA members and $260 for RNs with membership (CHPN® candidate handbook, 2020).
• The requirements for the initial licensing also apply for the renewal process.

Presented Problem

• The chosen problem is knowledge deficit r/t CHPN certification among home hospice nurses AMB lack of confidence and depression.
• CHPN certification serves as a merit of knowledge and skills required for adequate assessment of RN’s qualification.
• The difference between a licensed RN and a certified RN consists of a knowledge base, and while a license means competency in a field, a certificate guarantees mastery of required abilities.

Scholarly Article about the Topic

• The paper “Nursing specialty certification and patient outcomes: What we know in acute care hospitals and future directions” by Boyle describes the relationship between positive outcomes in patients and the certification status of the nurse.
• The author makes observations about the better quality of care that is linked with higher autonomy of nursing staff (Boyle, 2017).
• Boyle (2017) states that “less autonomy may lead to poorer patient outcomes” (p. 139).

Connection Between Patient Outcomes and the Issue

• Adverse outcomes can come from the lack of necessary knowledge and mental stress related to the profession.
• Certification guarantees that a registered nurse is confident about his or her skills and must be able to provide quality care to a patient.
• Kehl (2014) states that certified nurses have more expertise, are less prone to being lost in a difficult situation, and develop necessary “skills which are used consistently to make appropriate clinical decisions” (p. 506).

Connection Between the Article and the Presented Problem

• The article links the autonomy of nurses’ actions and decisions with positive patient outcomes.
• A certified nurse is more capable of providing adequate assistance to a patient by taking critical decisions when necessary.
• Credentialing contributes to nurses’ initiative to take leadership roles, which helps patients to gain confidence in themselves (Boyle, 2017).

Conclusion

• Studies by Kehl (2014) show that “certified hospice and palliative RNs (CHPNs) had significantly more experience in hospice and palliative nursing than non-CHPNS” (p. 508).
• Certification is a highly-valued proof of nurses’ competence and ability to provide care, which is reassuring for a patient and their family.
• A certified registered nurse has a higher potential for autonomous decision-making, which is highly valued for leadership positions.

Summary of Acquired Knowledge

• CHPN certification, while not necessary, gives patients confidence in their assigned nurse.
• Leadership skills have value outside of the management of nursing personnel, and they also allow nurses to boost the morale of their patients.
• In order to increase the number of positive outcomes and provide a higher quality of end-life care, hospitals are interested in hiring CHPN-certified nurses.

References

Boyle, D. K. (2017). Nursing specialty certification and patient outcomes: What we know in acute care hospitals and future directions. Journal of the Association for Vascular Access, 22(3), 137–142. Web.

CHPN® Candidate Handbook (2020). Hospice & Palliative Credentialing Center. Web.

Kehl K. A. (2014). The relationship of patient population and nurses certification status on nurses’ practices in preparing families for the end of life. Journal of hospice and palliative nursing, 16(8), 503–513. Web.