Hello December 2020! The current year is almost over and what a year it has been! I am sure that most of you share my hope that 2021 will bring a sense of normalcy back into our lives. I know that I speak for all of you when I say that I am proud to be a nurse. The work can be exhausting, but the difference we make for our patients cannot be measured in hours or paychecks. It is measured in the lasting impression we leave with them and their families.
Congratulations to our 638 certified nurses. What an empowering number! The Plastic Surgical Nursing Certification Board (PSNCB) is here to support you. Please visit our website (http://psncb.org) to learn how to become a part of this prestigious group of nurses. If you are currently CPSN and/or CANS certified, remember to visit the website to stay up-to-date on the recertification guidelines.
NEW PSNCB POSITIONS
I wanted to share a few of the changes that will be happening at the PSNCB as we move into the new year. The PSNCB consists of a President, a Secretary/Treasurer, four Directors, a Public Member, and an ISPAN Liaison. I want to acknowledge and thank Sharon Fritsche for her many years of service on the PSNCB, both as a Director and as Secretary/Treasurer. Her contributions and words of wisdom will be greatly missed by all the members of the PSNCB. Kathy Mortl, who has been serving as a Director, has graciously agreed to begin serving as Secretary/Treasurer. This left one open Director position.
It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to our newest Director, Erin Catanese. Erin is a certified plastic surgical nurse, who manages an office-based surgery center in the suburbs of Chicago working alongside Dr. Michael Epstein. She has completed three medical missions in Nicaragua and Ecuador in some of the most impoverished areas of these regions. During her medical missions through the charitable medical organization Healing the Children, Erin has provided care to many unfortunate children with microtia and cleft palates. Erin is looking forward to serving the PSNCB, and has stated, "I have so much knowledge to offer and I look forward to providing competent service to the PSNCB, so that our future certified nurses can find their gift and give it away to their patients, like me."
BECOMING CERTIFIED IN 2021
CNET (Center for Nursing Education and Testing) is the administrator of our certification examinations. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, CNET will be transitioning both the CPSN and CANS examinations to a computer-based testing format. Finalization of this plan will not be completed until early 2021. If you applied to sit for either the spring or fall 2019 examination, CNET will carry your application forward to the 2021 examinations. The plan is that nurses will have a 30-day window in both the spring and fall to choose a date within that time frame and complete the examination at a specified testing center.
PSNCB PHILOSOPHY
The PSNCB is committed to the advancement of professional nursing through recognition of nurses displaying knowledge and competence in the specialty practice of plastic surgical nursing. If you are certified, we applaud your hard work and commitment to the specialty. If becoming certified is one of your goals for 2021, please reach out to the PSNCB so we can help you.
Respectfully Submitted,
Renee J. Hinojosa, MSN, APRN,
ACNS-BC, CPSN, CANS
President, PSNCB