by Matt Batcheldor
Vanderbilt University Medical Center was granted reaccreditation for nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) in February from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
With this accreditation, which is for four years, VUMC is part of an influential global community of accredited organizations, said Crystal Jackson, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, senior director of Nursing Education and Professional Development.
“It helps us to continue our mission to deliver the best ongoing education and also helps with professional development for staff, especially our nurses who are seeking certifications,” Jackson said. “When our nurses complete contact hours, it will now be associated with this very prestigious accreditation. I am thankful to all the staff who helped achieve this important designation.”
The accreditation follows a rigorous process, including a detailed self-study and a site visit in December 2022. The news of the accreditation is timely — it comes just before Certified Nurses Day on March 19, a traditional day of celebration.
“The appraisers really look at your structure, process and outcomes from start to finish, how you have built out your educational programs, your partnership with your nurse planners,” Jackson said. “They look at how the organization is ensuring content integrity and correlating evidence-based practice to support its work.”
NCPD accreditation from ANCC elevates educational offerings that benefit Vanderbilt nurses, and the patients and communities they serve, by:
- Promoting the highest professional standards to sustain effective strategies that improve professional nursing practice.
- Improving curricula for nurses to provide evidence-based education that strengthen professional development programs.
- Increasing credibility to adhere to evidence-based, global standards that deliver quality, professional education.
- Expanding visibility to be included among other accredited organizations that are listed in a nationwide, searchable directory.
- Increasing demand to offer continuing professional development contact hours that are essential to building professional portfolios and maintaining certification and accredit- ation from ANCC and other licensing boards and regulatory bodies.
“This accreditation demonstrates Vanderbilt’s commitment to using evidence-based criteria when developing high-quality educational activities that promote the professional growth of nurses,” said Executive Chief Nursing Officer Marilyn Dubree, MSN, RN, NE-BC. “We are thrilled to share in this prestigious accreditation.”
The ANCC Accreditation Model is based on the original Donabedian framework of structure, process and outcome measures to evaluate quality. The ANCC standards provide organizations with a structured, evidence-based framework to design and implement NCPD activities.
The development of quality outcomes ensures that accredited organizations continuously evaluate processes and their impact on the professional development of nurses.
For more information on the ANCC NCPD Accreditation Program, visit www.nursingworld.org/ncpd.
