Texas Health Resources provides a standardized process for bonus payments and exam fee reimbursements for registered nurses who achieve a national nursing certification. Jeanette Tatarenko, B.S.N., R.N., CMSRN, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano, shares why she became a certified medical-surgical registered nurse.
What inspired you to become a nurse? When I was 13 years old, just a few months after I moved from Ukraine, my aunt got into a major car accident and ended up losing both of her legs. While she was in her hospital bed, all I wanted to do was comfort her and ease her suffering. At the time, I did not speak any English, but I could observe. I saw kind nurses who cared for her with great warmth and compassion; it was so inspiring that I realized I wanted to become a nurse when I grew up.
Why did you decide to pursue certification? I wanted to enhance my expertise as a nurse and achieve the highest standard of medical-surgical nursing practice.
What did you learn by becoming certified? I found the certification process to be enriching both personally and professionally. It helped me identify the areas where I needed a refresher and exposed me to new information. While reviewing for the exam, I discovered great reference materials that were geared specifically to my nursing specialty. I shared these resources with my colleagues and it sparked interest in others to pursue their own CMSRN certifications.
Why do you think it’s important for nurses to pursue certification? Certification improves confidence when educating and providing care for patients. It assures the patient that the nurse is competent and is up to date in the latest nursing practices. In addition to improving patient outcomes, it increases recognition of expertise and commitment to the pursuit of excellence in a nursing specialty.
Besides becoming a certified nurse, what are other ways you have advanced your professional development? I have gained my qualified bilingual certification. I have also obtained Level IV NCAP (Nursing Career Advancement Program) and started working on Level V. I have also become a qualified preceptor at Texas Health Plano, and I am one of the leaders on our Medical-Surgical/Telemetry Unit-Based Council.
Is there anything else you would like to tell your colleagues? Obtaining a specialty certification is absolutely worth it. In addition to enriching nursing knowledge, it inspires others to get certified and practice nursing at the top of their licenses. Collectively, the increased numbers of certified registered nurses enhance the reputation of the organization and ultimately benefit the community around us.
