Forum topic

I have 2 national certifications - infusion nursing and staff development. I definitely believe that they have made a difference in my ability to grow my business over the past 15 years. It adds to my credibility for all potential clients. Lynn

I also am multi credentialed and have to say, the CRNI has been respected-

One employer provided a bonus, others required the CRNI for employment.  It has been very valuable and appreciated on both sides .

 Employers knew I was trained and followed the materials of INS for certification and this was valued and led to my credibility. 

I now work as a Surveyor for California Dept of Health and today my supervisor sent someone to me for IV expert info...

 Ann Zonderman, BSN, JD, CRNI, LHRM

Hi Valorie! I obtained my CRNI a year ago in March. 

I live in the western US, and work in a small 40 bed hospital that is attempting Magnet status. I do not believe that my certification has changed anything with my organization. There are instances of product change decisions that have occured, or policy work (ie picc, flushing) that I have not known about until afterwards, and wished that I could have influenced prior.  I have been trying to get my organization to change to maximal barrier. We were able to present to our director that the price of our individual products (never mind the staff time) vs. the kit was an effective thing to do cost-wise, and would put us in compliance  with CDC. The idea was accepted, I thought. But, then the kits were requested as samples. We have three kits to "try."  We don't have piccs every day, or even every week, but I have been ineffective in getting the kits to be tried.

I lot of people in our area don't know what "CRNI" means.

I love the specialty and am looking forward to getting myself lined up to use it more!!!!

Good luck with what you are doing.

PS I did not receive a pay change, but did receive a $1000 bonus for the certification, which I appreciated!  Also, I have obtained opportunities outside of my community that I wouldn't have been able to without my certification.

While CRNI is required for my job, I am not sure that many staff outside of my area are aware of what it takes to be a CRNI.  Obtaining my CRNI has given me more respect for my own knowledge and enable me to better communicate with colleges.

Rose

I obtained my certification in September although I have been an infusion nurse for 2 years with an infusion company. I received a "congratulations" on passing the exam but that was about it. I find it odd that the company I work for being an infusion company does not promote or encourage their nurses to obtain certification. I think many of the nurses do not persue this on their own due to the cost which is neither shared nor reimbursed by the company. Times are hard these days. For myself, I am proud to be certified in my field and obtaining my certification helped me provide better care to my patients which is the ultimate goal for all nurses.

I've been a CRNI since 1994, and also am credentialed in Infection Prevention and Control since 2007.

I feel that both these credentials greatly increase my credibility among my peers and in the past few years have come to be more and more valued by the administration of my hospital.  Of course, I never miss an opportunity to share articles that point out how few rural community hospitals like ours have CRNIs on staff.  We have TWO (and an active outpatient oncology clinic that I help out in).

It has been a long time coming, and I have long lobbied with our administration to incentivize and recognize nurses who pursue credentialing.  This is especially important since we are in Hawaii, and not only is the process of certification expensive, the travel involved for testing and continuing education can be extremely expensive.  I did manage to get reimbursement for this year's Annual Convention; still negotiating for travel. 

I have been CRNI since 1986, the second year the test was administered.  There was no bonus or payment for it but that wasn’t my motivation.  For me, this was a personal reward and I love the opportunity to explain to others what it means.  I have had non-IV practitioners tell me that they are more impressed with my CRNI than with my MSN because it speaks so much stronger to my knowledge and dedication.  The CRNI is not as well recognized as some certifications because there are fewer of us.  Advertise your CRNI within your facility by writing an article for the company newsletter.   Alas, a lot of folks don’t understand the infusion specialty and we are the ones who needs change that paradigm.

I work out patient and have held my CRNI for 7 years now. I think it has greatly affected my credibility as well as my knowledge base. I chose to retest last year instead of going to a conference because it was more economical and my department did not have budget for travel. I actually enjoyed the studying. It is so comprehensive. I am frequently called with questions on the INS standards of practice by nurses in my facility and the hospital and I think it is largely due to the CRNI credentialing.  Katie

Hi Valorie,

My director challenged her nurses to get credentialed, back in 2009. I bit. No one else did. I passed the exam in March 2010. I sought the credential to help to assure myself that was operating safely in my role. I was not looking for recognition per se. I hoped that the CRNI meant that some of my colleagues would recognize I had put a lot of effort into educating myself in vascular access issues, and realize at least sometimes, that I know what I am talking about.

I would say most of my colleagues do understand and respect the significance of a CRNI.

I was, however, stunned when I reported to Human Resources to request a new badge with CRNI after my name. They made me a new badge but refused to add the credential because [paraphrasing] "it would confuse the patients." I was flabbergasted. We go to great lengths to assure our patients that we are all very competent. I assumed bearing the CRNI after my name would help to assure my patients even more. 

Although, my employer didn't make me seek my credential, their extra nudge gave me the encouragement to go for it. I work with other credentialed nurses, CENs, IBCLCs, ONcs, and CCRNs. To the best of my knowledge we all paid out of our own pockets for our education and examinations. Most of us are pretty quiet about our credentials. I was a little offended to have my employer deny me the right to wear the credential on my badge. So now I wear it on my scrubs and jackets. 

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised when they submitted a news release to the local media announcing that one of their nurses demonstrates a higher level of venous access practice. That was nice. I think it was also a good move for the organization.

Art

Once I obtained my CRNI credentials I was looked upon as more of an expert and resource then before I had it. This was a pattern among my peers. To be honest physicians did not notice nor even were aware of what it meant. The respect for what I had earned came from other nurses involved in infusion therapy. It adds credibilty and a sense of "that nurse really knows their stuff" when dealing with infusion related issues.