Study reveals positive correlation between specialty nursing certification and workplace empowerment

Nov 3 2010

Building on the body of evidence supporting a link between specialty nursing certification and workplace empowerment, a new study documents a positive association between nurses' perceptions of workplace empowerment and the proportion of nurses with specialty certification in hospital units.

"Nursing Specialty Certification and Nursing-Sensitive Patient Outcomes in the Intensive Care Unit" — by lead author Greta Krapohl, RN, MSN, a 20-year Army Nurse Corps veteran and doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues — appears in the November American Journal of Critical Care (AJCC).

Study analysis reveals a positive and statistically significant correlation between workplace empowerment and certification, findings consistent with prior research that documented similar results. Though a statistically significant relationship between nursing certification and nurse-sensitive patient outcomes could not be documented, the study nevertheless highlights the strong association that exists between perceptions of overall workplace empowerment and certification.

"Our investigation revealed higher overall empowerment scores in units with a higher proportion of certified nurses," Krapohl explains. Closer analysis found strong unit leadership, the availability of certification resources and the support of nursing continuing education as key organizational factors in the promotion of nursing certification, she adds.

Funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation, the University of Michigan study adds to the body of knowledge that affirms the relationship of nursing certification to healthy work environments in practice settings.

In May, AJCC published findings from the first national study to examine certification and empowerment in tandem. "Certification, Empowerment, and Intent to Leave Current Position and the Profession Among Critical Care Nurses" — by Joyce Fitzpatrick, RN, MBA, PhD, FAAN, Elizabeth Brooks Ford professor of nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, and colleagues — found that certified nurses in critical care indicate greater satisfaction with jobs and careers and higher perceptions of empowerment than their non-certified peers.

During the study, Krapohl and her colleagues distributed anonymous surveys to 866 nurses working in 25 intensive care units in southeast Michigan. The survey used the Conditions for Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II (CWEQ-II) to measure workplace empowerment with an additional question about certification status. Data simultaneously collected on three nurse-sensitive patient outcomes included: (1) rate of central line catheter-associated bloodstream infection, (2) rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia and (3) prevalence of pressure ulcers. A total of 450 completed surveys were returned and used in the analysis.

Access the study abstract and full-text PDF by visiting the AJCC website at http://www.ajcconline.org.