BCEN Announces Plans for Burn Nursing Specialty Certification

Major Burn Nursing Survey Gets Underway

OAK BROOK, Ill., March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN), the benchmark for specialty certification across the emergency nursing spectrum, today announced it is developing a burn nursing specialty certification. 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," said BCEN CEO Janie Schumaker, MBA, BSN, RN, CEN, CENP, CPHQ, FABC.

"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." Carrougher chairs the American Burn Association's nursing certification committee.

Among the ABA-led accomplishments leading up to the development of a burn nursing specialty certification was the formal recognition of burn nursing as a nursing specialty by the American Nurses Association in August 2020 and the publication of Burn Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice.

For more details and future updates about the CBRN, please visit BCEN's CBRN burn nursing certification page.

Large-scale Burn Nurse Survey Gets Underway
Today also marks the start of a large-scale burn nurse survey, which is a vital part of developing the certification. Burn nurses across the U.S. and around the world are being asked to participate in this survey which will yield pivotal data to define in detail burn nurse roles, responsibilities and competencies across the continuum of burn nursing care — including pre-hospital and acute care, patient and family support, recovery and rehabilitation, and educational outreach — and will inform the CBRN certification exam content. Nursing specialty certifications independently validate a nurse's advanced knowledge, clinical judgement and professionalism in their specialty.

"It is particularly rewarding to announce our plans for this new certification in the lead up to Certified Nurses Day as BCEN celebrates the dedication, achievements and impact of the more than 50,000 emergency, trauma and transport nurses who hold one of BCEN's five credentials. We salute you, each and every one, along with your certified RN colleagues across all specialties," said Schumaker, who is also immediate past president of the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS). ABNS represents 32 certifying bodies that certify approximately 930,000 registered nurses worldwide across dozens of nursing specialties. 

Burn nurses interested in participating in the survey who did not receive the survey invitation are encouraged to contact BCEN Director of Certification and Accreditation Amy Grand, MS, RN, at [email protected].

About BCEN
Founded in 1980, the independent, not-for-profit Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN®) offers robust national board certification programs fostering empowered nurses across the emergency spectrum who contribute noticeably to patient care, safety and outcomes. Over 50,000 RNs who specialize in emergency, pediatric emergency, flight, critical care ground transport, and trauma nursing hold one or more of BCEN's five credentials. BCEN supports advanced lifelong learning through the BCEN Learn continuing education platform and the new-in-2022 BCEN Learn Live conferences. Learn more at bcen.org.

Note to Editors: CBRN certification images available by request from BCEN.

SOURCE Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing