Creating a culture to promote nursing specialty certification. Symposium introduction.

摘要

Certification is defined in the nursing literature in several ways; no consistent definition exists. Despite lack of agreement on a definition, nursing specialty certification programs are intended for consumer protection. Certification protects the public by enabling consumers to identify competent people more readily. But, what is competency? Competency has been defined as "essential knowledge, behaviors, and skills that an individual should possess and demonstrate to practice in a specific discipline or specialty area."