Study isolates strategies for increasing nurse specialty certification

Improving hospital work environments and preferentially hiring BSN-prepared nurses are two strategies for increasing nurse specialty certification, according to a study in the May issue of the Journal of Nursing Administration. A cross-sectional, secondary data analysis of 20,454 nurses in 471 hospitals in four states showed higher odds of certification were associated with Magnet recognition and better hospital work environments at the facility level. At the individual nurse level, the likelihood of certification was linked with BSN education, unit type (most notably, oncology), older age, more years of experience and full-time employment.