I know I just wrote about how recognition can be cringey. Especially for an introvert.

However.

Touting your accomplishment is not cringe.

I’ve been a certified nurse operating room (CNOR) for 15 years now. I just renewed!

When you are in a specialized area such as the operating room, emergency room… heck, all hospital areas are specialized and all have their own certification.

But what does certification mean?

It means that the nurse

To me, it means that the nurse cares enough about the processes of their care and their patients, to study hard, find a certification test, often pay money out of their own pockets to take the certification test. Yes, it means an additional set of letters after your name, but all the certified nurses I know say it is not about that.

They speak to their dedication to the art and care of nursing and this has caused them to want to be certified. It is not about the money. It is about showing everyone that you are proud to be a nurse. It is also a declaration of what kind of nurse you want to be.

To the certified nurse, nursing is not about the paycheck, of putting the hours in and stamping that time clock, or working or not working that overtime. Or getting everything done so you can get off the floor, off the unit. It is about caring and wanting to see the best outcomes for your patients.

That is why I am and have continued to be a certified nurse.