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Job Analysis Will Inform CCHP-RN Exam
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CCHP-RN Certification
Task Force Members |
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Kleanthe
Caruso, RN, MSN, CCHP
Tyler, TX
Margaret Collatt, BSN, RN, CCHP-A
Training and Development Specialist, Oregon Department
of Corrections, Salem
Catherine Knox, MN, RN, CCHP
Chief Nursing Executive, California Prison Health Care,
Portland, OR
Susan Laffan, RN, CCHP-A
Co-owner, Specialized Medical Consultants, Toms River,
NJ
Jerri McGinnis, BSN, CCHP
Compliance, Willacy Detention Center, Los Fresnos, TX
Jacqueline Moore, PhD, RN, CCHP-A
President, Moore & Associates, Greenwood Village, CO
Mary Muse, MSN, RN, CCHP-A
Consultant, Correctional Health, Flossmoor, IL
Rebecca Pinney, RN, CCHP
Group Vice President, Prison Health Services, Brentwood,
TN
Ellyn Presley, RN, CCHP
Health Services Administrator, Prince William County
Juvenile Detention Center, Manassas, VA
Lorry Schoenly, PhD, RN, CCHP
Clinical Education Manager, Correctional Medical
Services, Fairless Hills, PA
Patricia Voermans, RN, NP, CCHP
Health Services Coordinator (Retired), Wisconsin
Department of Corrections, Madison, WI
Ruth
Wyatt, RN, CCHP
Health Services Administrator, Hinds County Sheriff’s
Department, Jackson, MS |
Nursing practice is continually changing, and the
challenges of practice in corrections adds a layer of complexity
to an already demanding field. The Certified Correctional Health
Professionals board of trustees is committed to creating a
specialty certification that corresponds to the evolution of
correctional nurses’ work.
A task force made up of 12 experienced nurses
from prisons, jails and juvenile and federal facilities has
provided the leadership for development of the CCHP-RN program.
Numerous members of the task force have remarked
on the importance of this process. Susan Laffan, RN, CCHP-A,
captured the motivation for participating in the project by
noting, “As correctional nurses, we have an obligation to the
specialty of correctional nursing, other correctional nurses and
ourselves to strive to advance the profession.”
The latest phase of their work is the CCHP-RN Job
Analysis Survey, now being conducted among RNs who are CCHP
certified. The project is being facilitated by the CCHP board of
trustees and NCCHC under the guidance of certification
consultant Anna Bersky, PhD. Prison Health Services generously
provided funding to support the survey.
Study Objective
The objective is to analyze today’s correctional
nursing environment to ensure that the new specialty credential
is relevant to current practitioners. Task force member Mary
Muse, MSN, RN, CCHP-A, explains: “The analysis is part of a
rigorous process in test design to ensure that we are testing
correctional nursing practice.”
Broad participation in the survey is crucial to
validating the preliminary work of the task force. A rigorous
review of input from a large and diverse group of correctional
nurses will help to ensure relevance and clarity of language,
regardless of the location, size or type of facility. Input will
also strengthen the certification process as CCHPs begin to
recognize and gain respect for the new credential.
“Your participation will move us forward with the
exam and be a contribution to the professionalism of
correctional nursing,” Muse adds. “This is important because a
correctional nursing specialty exam and certification will
legitimize the work that we do.”
We encourage all CCHPs who hold an RN license to
participate in this important initiative. Your contribution will
strengthen and inform the process immeasurably. As an incentive,
we will award five survey respondents the entire examination fee
for the CCHP-RN program—a value of $225. Names will be drawn at
random from all respondents who provide their contact
information. Winners will be notified by Oct. 19, with an
announcement at the National Conference on Correctional Health
Care in Orlando, FL.
[This article first appeared
in the Summer 2009 issue of CorrectCare.] |
