BCEN Celebrates 30 Years of Certified Flight Nursing Excellence

News provided by

Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing

Jul 06, 2023, 12:10 ET

BCEN's Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN) Credential Turns 30 on July 24, 2023

OAK BROOK, Ill., July 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN), the benchmark for certification across the emergency spectrum, is celebrating the 30^th anniversary of its Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN) certification program. Held by over 5,800 RNs worldwide, the CFRN is one of the longest-running and most complex and multifaceted national nursing specialty certifications.

This month 30 years ago, 403 RNs passed the first CFRN exam and became the first board certified flight nurses. Today, there are over 5,800 CFRNs worldwide.

CFRN certification independently validates an RN's mastery of flight nursing clinical knowledge and professional issues as well as safety, survival, disaster preparedness, scene operations management, communications, and equipment and aircraft knowledge—all of which are essential to safe, evidence-based, advanced nursing practice in the highly complex, dynamic and autonomous flight nursing environment.

"Since 1993, the CFRN has stood as the hallmark of exceptional flight nursing patient care and safety," said BCEN CEO Janie Schumaker, MBA, BSN, RN, CEN, CENP, CPHQ, FABC. "BCEN salutes the thousands of CFRN-certified RNs, past and present, for their commitment to their patients, flight nursing excellence, and advancing flight care worldwide."

Flight nurses and their partners, most often a paramedic, are the air medical clinical duo who provide clinical care for critically ill and injured patients during scene responses and interfacility transports.

The top perceived benefits of CFRN certification include flight physiology and flight nursing clinical knowledge, confidence and critical thinking in the flight environment, and a sense of pride and accomplishment, according to The 2022 Certified Flight Registered Nurse Pulse Survey. Nearly 1,000 CFRNs participated in this first value of certification research focused on flight nursing.

Throughout July, CFRN 30^th anniversary celebrations will include:

Commemoration on the cover and inside the July/August 2023 Air Medical Journal
CFRN Tributes from medical transport leaders and flight nursing pioneers
The 30 Years of Flight Nursing Excellence visual timeline
A CFRN 30^th Anniversary special edition of BCEN's InformED newsletter
#ThrowbackThursday and #CFRNTributeFriday social posts celebrating the #CFRN30th
CFRN Turns 30 commemoration on July 24, the day RNs sat for the first CFRN exam

Read more about the history of flight nursing and the CFRN credential in the 30^th anniversary edition of "Excellence in the Air: The CFRN," from BCEN's Commitment to Excellence Series. The series chronicles the origin and impacts of each of BCEN's emergency, trauma and transport specialty certifications.

About BCEN
Founded in 1980, the independent, not-for-profit Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN®) offers robust nursing specialty certification programs fostering empowered nurses across the emergency spectrum who contribute noticeably to patient care, safety and outcomes. Over 59,000 BCEN credentials are held by RNs and advanced practice RNs who specialize in adult/mixed emergency, pediatric emergency, flight, critical care ground transport, and trauma care. BCEN supports advanced lifelong learning through the award-winning BCEN Learn continuing education platform and regional BCEN Learn Live conferences.

SOURCE Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing