Publisher's Synopsis
"The nurse workforce constitutes the largest sector of health professionals in the United States and includes individuals with varying educational backgrounds and expertise. Like other health professions, nursing includes a large number of specialties and subspecialties. Nurses may seek certification, based on various standards and criteria, from a wide range of organizations. Similarly, organizations may participate in nursing credentialing programs, which typically reflect the attainment of various nursing care standards and outcome measures. It is, however, unclear how this additional training and education affects health care quality and patient health. Future Directions of Credentialing Research in Nursing examines short- and long-term strategies to advance research on nurse certification and organizational credentialing. This report summarizes a workshop convened by the Institute of Medicine in September 2014 to examine a new fram