How to Promote & List Your Credential
Marketing Your Credentials
We're proud of your certification success and hope you know the value of sharing your credentials with others. You've proven that you have what it takes to be board-certified in the specialized field of pediatric nursing.
Easy ways to let others know:
- Wear your certification pin.
- List your credentials when charting if allowed by your employer.
- Introduce yourself as a Certified Pediatric Nurse to patients, their families, and peers.
- Mention your credentials in your hospital staff bio.
- Write a short article to announce your certification achievement and submit to your hospital newsletter, alumni news or local newspapers.
- Personalize our press release template to inform your community of your achievement: CPN press release
Explaining certification to families, colleagues, or acquaintances:
- I'm committed to staying up to date in the pediatric nursing field.
- I've received professional recognition for pediatric nursing expertise.
- I successfully put my skills and knowledge to the test and met the highest national standards for the care of pediatric patients.
And for children:
- "I passed a special test for nurses who take care of children and earned these letters to wear by my name."
- "I took the extra time and effort to show I'm an expert in what I do... taking care of you!"
If you have other suggestions on how to increase recognition or know of other ways to answer the above questions, we'd love to hear them! Email us your thoughts.
Listing Your Credentials
We suggest to always list your degree first, then licensure followed by certification. Honorary acronyms come last.
Here are some examples:
Terri Moore, BS, RN, CPN
Joseph Garcia, ADN, RN, CPN
Maria O'Connor, MSN, RN, CPN, CCRN
Sara Smith, DNP, APRN, CPN, CPNP-PC, FAAN
Listing only your highest nursing degree is fairly standard. If you have an MBA, MPH, or other non-nursing degree, this would come next, then licensure. If you have multiple certifications, people usually list the one earned first in the first position, and the one earned most recently in the final position, etc. Athough the PNCB uses the registration mark (®) on its website and literature, you do not need to use this mark.
Listing a doctoral degree while also using "Dr." in the same line is considered redundant. For signature lines, use the degree after your name and omit the title "Dr". For third-person biographies, begin the text with Emma Jones, PhD, RN, CPN, and then use Dr. Jones thereafter.
If you want to use your credentials when charting, be sure to check your employer's policy on doing so. We hope you list your PNCB certification with pride whenever possible (on name badges, business cards, etc.) to let others know about your achievement!
Posters and Brochures to Share
Want to promote CPN certification to others?
- Promote Certification with Free Materials: Download materials from our digital marketing kit.
- Consider applying to be a CPN Champion with great benefits.
