The burn specialty will be BCEN's sixth specialty nursing certification program.
The Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN), the benchmark for specialty certification across the emergency nursing spectrum, recently announced the development of the first and only burn nursing specialty certification, scheduled to be available in 2023.
The new professional credential will be called the Certified Burn Registered Nurse (CBRN). After collaborating with the American Burn Association (ABA) on the initial development of the CBRN, BCEN will own and maintain the CBRN certification program.
"Following years of extraordinary advocacy by the American Burn Association and the burn nursing community to set the stage for a burn nursing-specific professional credential, and knowing the impact specialty certification has on ensuring optimal patient safety and outcomes as well as nurse success and satisfaction, BCEN is honored to take on this important endeavor," BCEN CEO Janie Schumaker, MBA, BSN, RN, CEN, CENP, CPHQ, FABC, said in a press release.
Understanding the pathophysiology of a burn injury is crucial to effective treatment, which is why burn certification for RNs is key to better outcomes for burn patients.
"The CBRN will advance our specialty by promoting the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to care for those impacted by burn injury, thus encouraging quality nursing care and best patient outcomes," said Gretchen J. Carrougher, MN, RN, research nurse supervisor, Department of Surgery, UW Medicine Regional Burn Center at Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington.
"I have been impressed by the dedication by many in our specialty and appreciative of the support by the ABA and BCEN in this long-standing effort," added Carrougher, who chairs the ABA's nursing certification committee.
Burn nursing was formally recognized in August 2020 as a nursing specialty by the American Nurses Association (ANA)—a move that highlights "the essential role of burn nurses and the function of burn nursing practice across the healthcare spectrum,” ANA president, Ernest Grant, PHD, RN, FAAN, said at the time, himself a burn nurse for more than 35 years.
CBRN will be BCEN's sixth specialty nursing certification program, joining five current specialties: emergency, pediatric emergency, trauma, flight, and critical care transport.
More than 50,000 RNs and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) hold one or more of the BCEN credentials.
Carol Davis is the Nursing Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.