The Plastic Surgical Nursing Certification Board (PSNCB) has been very busy with our ongoing role to serve and help you meet your goals to either become certified or maintain your Certified Plastic Surgical Nurse (CPSN) or Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist (CANS) certification. Our goals for the future are to offer the following:

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* Tips and tricks to help you study for the CANS or CPSN examinations

* Examination preparation materials

* Update the FAQ section on the PSNCB Web site

* Investigating the idea of members creating "How I do It" videos as a resource to the International Society of Plastic and Aesthetic Nurses (ISPAN)

* Helpful tips on recertifying

* Providing a list of prominent Web sites where continuing education can be found

For those of you who will be recertifying this year, please note that it is now an online application process. Recertification guidelines and applications are available on the ISPAN Web site. Use the certification tab to find information about certification and recertification for both the CPSN and the CANS. To access your recertification form, log into the Certified Nurses Area. Your continuing education certificates must be uploaded into your recertification application, so please allow adequate time to complete this process.

Please keep in mind when your recertification expires. Every effort is made to contact you prior to your expiration date. An e-mail reminder is sent out 6 months prior to this date. If the e-mail bounces back, a letter is mailed to you. If this letter is undelivered, a phone call reminder is made. It is very important that your contact information is updated and current with ISPAN and PSNCB. An additional reminder is e-mailed out 1 month prior to the deadline when your recertification expires. Please be aware that you must submit your recertification packet at least 30 days prior to your expiration date to avoid a late fee (see recertification fee chart in Table 1). A packet submitted after your expiration date may risk rejection, and you will lose your certification. To become certified again, you will need to sit for the specific certification examination.

TABLE 1 Recertification Fees

Please be aware of the most current guidelines when preparing to apply for your recertification. You must have 30 of the required 45 continuing education units (CEUs) "specific" to plastic surgical nursing for the CPSN and 30 "specific" to one of the Core Specialties for the CANS. In the past, many applicants have chosen to use medical CEUs (CME) for their recertification packet. Beginning in 2018, only 15 of the required 45 CUEs may be medically based (CME) and the other 30 CEUs must be nursing based (approved by an accredited nursing agency).

Another requirement for certification is two CEUs related to patient safety. In the past, the nurses' responsibility to patient safety has had a narrower spectrum. Some examples may include avoiding medication errors, maintaining skin integrity, and preventing patient falls. Although these examples remain vitally important, the depth and breadth of quality assurance and patient safety have become far greater. Today, nurses must recognize that the most critical contribution to patient safety is the ability to coordinate and integrate the multiple components of quality care directly provided by nursing as well as the care delivered to their patients by the other members of the medical team (http://www.psnet.ahrq.gov).

The PSNCB is here to serve you. If you have any questions regarding your application for recertification, please reach out to the PSNCB at mailto:[email protected] or (877) 337-9315.

Respectfully submitted,

Renee Hinojosa, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CPSN, CANS

President, PSNCB

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