Nurse Executive Certification: Overview and FAQ
Are you a CNO, DON, nurse administrator, or nurse VP looking to solidify your status as a leader? A nurse executive certification shows that you have the skills to run teams, make strategic decisions, shape policy, and more. Earning NE-BC certification, NEA-BC certification, or CNEP certification can open doors to higher-level positions and enhance your confidence.
Nurse executives work in a variety of healthcare systems and areas, including:
- Hospitals
- Healthcare systems
- Long-term care facilities
- Academic institutions
- Government agencies
- Private practices and clinics
- Healthcare consulting firms
- Community health organizations
Nurse leaders help shape the future of clinical practice and patient care. Nursing leadership style has been shown to have a direct effect on nurses’ performance at the bedside — even though executives typically aren’t patient-facing, their work influences care. Developing your skills as a leader isn’t just a smart career move, it’s also better for your staff and patients.
What Is a Nurse Executive Certification?
A nurse executive certification is a credential that shows you have the advanced skills and knowledge needed for top leadership roles in nursing. It’s designed for seasoned nurse leaders who have experience in managing teams, making policy decisions, and overseeing nursing operations.
These certifications show that you can head up teams effectively, influence healthcare decisions, and ensure quality patient care.
What Are the Accredited Nursing Executive Certification Programs?
1. Nurse Executive – Board Certified (NE-BC Certification): Offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), this certification is for leaders who oversee a specific team of nurses and other staff, focusing on daily operations, staffing, and team development. NE-BC is the best fit for hands-on leaders who make day-to-day decisions and are closely connected with the patient-facing team.
2. Nursing Executive – Advanced Certification (NEA-BC Certification): Also offered by the ANCC, this credential is for nurses who oversee more than one team and often manage non-nursing staff and broader system operations. They focus on strategy, big-picture finances, resource management, and systems integrations. They make high-level decisions and act as the face of the organization to the outside world.
3. Certified in Executive Nursing Practice (CENP Certification): Offered by the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL), CENP is for nurse executives who steer strategy, manage change, improve performance, and foster teamwork. They also advocate for patients, families, the nursing profession, and the whole healthcare team.
Do one or more of these certifications sound like you? To become a certified nurse executive, you’ll need to meet certain requirements, like holding an active RN license, having a bachelor’s degree or higher in nursing, and possessing experience in leadership or administrative roles.
What Are the Benefits of a Nurse Executive Certification?
A day in the life of a nurse executive might involve many different leadership tasks — hiring staff, developing financial plans, meeting with other hospital leaders, and overseeing unit managers, among others. Many of these responsibilities are learned on the job, but getting NE-BC certification can help codify the skills that a nurse leader brings, boosting your confidence and making you a more competitive candidate when applying to higher-level roles.
Certification is also an indicator of a healthcare facility’s success and reputation. Having certified senior staff helps to boost trust from both the public and team members. When you pursue certification, you increase credibility for yourself and your employer. This is why many hospitals offer pay incentives for certified nurses, and some will even partially or fully pay application fees for qualifying credentials.
CNML vs. CENP: What’s the Difference?
The Certified Nurse Manager and Leader (CNML) credential is for nurse managers who work directly with patient-facing teams on a day-to-day basis. Like the CENP, it’s offered by the AONL. But unlike the CENP, CNML is designed for clinicians who are closer to the bedside, supporting the professionals who give care. CNML-level professionals include unit managers, clinical supervisors, and quality directors. Directors of nursing (DON), VPs of nursing, and nursing division directors are more suited for CENP.
Which Nurse Executive Certification Is Best?
That depends on your experience, current role, and goals. Each certification caters to specific aspects of nurse leadership and management, offering benefits based on your professional aspirations. If you’re currently in a management role, consider either NE-BC certification or CNML. Current nurse executives might think about pursuing their NEA-BC or CENP. Many leaders have more than one credential, and you might earn more as you advance your career.
If you’re not sure which credential to pursue, think about the nurse leaders that you work with and report to. You likely already know someone with one or more of these certifications, and if you don’t, reach out to a leader in your organization. Certified nurses are often happy to speak with other nurses about their backgrounds. Ask them about their experience, and whether they have a recommendation based on your goals.
Earn Your Nurse Executive Certification: 4 Steps
Depending on which certification you’re pursuing, the specifics of acquiring it will vary. Here are the general steps you’ll follow to become a certified nurse executive:
Step 1: Meet the Nursing Executive Certification Requirements
Each certification has specific requirements you’ll need to meet to qualify. Below are the requirements for each certification.
NE-BC Certification:
- Active RN license in a U.S. state or territory, or hold an equivalent license in another country
- Bachelor degree in nursing or higher
- At least 2,000 hours in an administrative, leadership, or management role, overseeing daily operations of one or more units or departments within the past 3 years
- 30 hours of continuing education in leadership, management, or administration in the past 3 years
NEA-BC Certification:
- Active RN license in a U.S. state or territory, or hold an equivalent license in another country
- Graduate degree, with either the baccalaureate or graduate degree being in nursing
- At least 2,000 hours in an administrative, leadership, or management role, with a focus on organization-wide or system-wide operations and outcomes that include nursing, within the past 3 years
- 30 hours of continuing education in leadership, management, or administration in the past 3 years
CENP Certification:
- Active RN license, as well as education or work experience that satisfies one of these:
- A master’s degree or higher, with at least one degree in nursing from an accredited college or university, as well as at least 4,160 hours in an executive or senior nursing role
- A bachelor degree in nursing from an accredited college or university, and at least 8,320 hours in an executive or senior nursing role
Step 2: Register for the Exam
Once you know which certification to apply for and you’ve met their requirements, it’s time to apply online. If you’re going for the NE-BC or NEA-BC, you’ll need to make an ANCC account if you don’t already have one. If you’re attempting the CENP, you’ll make an AONL account.
ANCC requires education verification, so you’ll need to have your university send your final, official transcript to aprnvalidation@ana.org. Once you’re approved, you can schedule your exam time via Prometric. When applying for any of these exams, you’ll need to pay a fee:
- NE-BC: ANA members pay $295, nonmembers pay $395
- NEA-BC: ANA members pay $295, nonmembers pay $395
- CENP: AONL members pay $325, nonmembers pay $450
Step 3: Study for the Exam
Both ANCC and AONL offer study support for their exams, and you can access test content outlines, study guides, and sample tests online. Even though you have experience in executive skills, it’s best to review the test material every day to become familiar with the content.
You might have questions about test difficulty, like how hard is the NE-BC exam? Pass rates for certifications exam vary by year and cohort, but here are the average pass rates for each test:
Step 4: Become Certified and Maintain Your Credential
Once you’ve passed the exam, you can celebrate being a certified nurse leader. This is a rare accomplishment, and one that will elevate your career and distinguish you at the forefront of your field. Both the ANCC and AONL offer perks for the certified nurses, such as member communities, directories, career centers, continuing education, and webinars.
You’ll need to maintain your certification to remain active. Here are the requirements and time spans on renewals:
- NE-BC and NEA-BC: Renewals are required every 5 years. You must complete 75 hours of continuing education, as well as 1 of the 8 certification-renewal categories. ANA members will pay a $250 renewal fee, non-ANA members will pay $350.
- CENP: Recertification is required every 3 years, either through continuing professional development activities or by taking the CENP exam again. AONL members will pay $200, nonmembers pay $275. If you are renewing within 30 days after your certification expires, there is an additional $50 added to your recertification fee.
Put Your Nurse Executive Certification to Work
Looking for your next role as a nurse leader? Whether you’ve got an NE-BC certification or not, IntelyCare has roles that could fit your skills and needs. Sign up for nursing job notifications to learn more.