Good Samaritan recognized the unique contributions of certified nurses on Certified Nurses Day on Thursday, March 19, by honoring its board-certified nurses for their professionalism, leadership and commitment to excellence in patient care. Certified Nurses Day allows employers, certification boards, education facilities and health care providers to celebrate and publicly acknowledge their appreciation for nurses.

Karen Haak, Chief Nursing Officer of Good Samaritan, said she is proud of the continually growing number of board-certified nurses at Good Samaritan and encourages more to pursue certification. “Board certification is a contributing factor to higher standards of patient care,” she said. “Good Samaritan nurses, through certification, demonstrate exceptional skill, competency and knowledge in their field. Nurses must continually learn and acquire new skills to maintain and renew their certification, ultimately leading to more advanced, safe nursing practices.”

Certification validates a nurse’s specialized knowledge for practice in a defined functional or clinical area of nursing. According to data collected by the American Board of Nursing Specialties in 2014, nurses in the U.S. and Canada held more than 757,912 certifications, an increase of more than 74,228 certifications compared to 2013 survey data. These certifications were granted by 28 certifying organizations with over 144 credentials. In addition, certification benefits patients and their families, validating that the nurse caring for them has demonstrated experience, knowledge and skills in the complex specialties of acute and critical care.

Certified Nurses Day is an annual worldwide event dedicated to celebrating certification as a means to ensure high standards of patient care and to promote continuing excellence in the nursing profession. Initially proposed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the day honors the birthday of the late Margretta “Gretta” Madden Styles, an international pioneer of nursing certification who designed the first comprehensive study of nurse credentialing.