Palliative Care Nursing Certification and Career Outlook
This paper examines specialty certification in palliative care nursing, covering the ANCC's definition of certification, the types of credentials available, and the examination processes administered by the ANCC and AANP. It outlines the specific requirements for palliative care certification overseen by the American Board of Medical Specialties and the American Osteopathic Association, as well as New Jersey's continuing education requirements for RNs, LPNs, and APNs. The paper also analyzes Bureau of Labor Statistics projections for employment growth in palliative and hospice care through 2022, including salary data and specific job postings in the New Jersey area, highlighting the strong and expanding career opportunities for nurses with palliative care credentials.
- Introduction to Specialty Certification in Nursing: ANCC definition and rationale for specialty certification
- Types of Certifications and Examination Requirements: Credential types and ANCC vs. AANP exam formats
- Palliative Care Certification and Continuing Education Requirements: ABMS requirements and New Jersey CE rules by license type
- Employment Growth and Job Projections in Palliative Care: BLS projections and job categories through 2022
- Salary Expectations and New Jersey Job Postings: Median salaries and three local RN job postings
- Conclusion: Summary of growth trends and certification value
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds its discussion in an authoritative definition from the ANCC before expanding into specifics, giving the reader a clear conceptual anchor.
- Moves logically from certification requirements to labor market data to real job postings, creating a practical, career-oriented narrative arc.
- Uses concrete BLS projections and salary figures to support claims about industry growth, lending credibility to the argument for pursuing palliative care certification.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of institutional and government sources — the ANCC, Institute of Medicine, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and professional credentialing bodies — to substantiate both regulatory claims and labor market assertions. This source triangulation is appropriate for a professional or applied nursing context, where authoritative credentialing bodies and federal statistics carry more weight than secondary analysis alone.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a definition and rationale for specialty certification, then narrows to specific exam formats and credentialing pathways for palliative care. It widens again to present BLS employment projections and salary data, and concludes with regional job postings that ground the national data in local, practical context. This general-to-specific-to-applied structure is well-suited to a professional audience evaluating career options.
Introduction to Specialty Certification in Nursing
As Bonsall (2012) points out, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) has defined specialty certification as "a process by which a nongovernmental agency validates, based upon predetermined standards, an individual nurse's qualifications for practice in a defined functional or clinical area of nursing." Essentially, specialty certification indicates that a nurse has demonstrated competence and advanced knowledge within a specialized field. The Institute of Medicine (2010) has called for nurses to further their education in order to increase their competence levels, and obtaining specialty certification is one of the ways in which nurses can do that.
Types of Certifications and Examination Requirements
Different types of certifications include the Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN), Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN), Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC), and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). Certification is typically valid for a number of years — usually five — after which the nurse must renew, a process that requires additional education (American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 2019).
Achieving certification requires passing an exam. The two primary governing boards that administer certification exams to nurses are the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP); their exams differ in format. The ANCC exam consists of approximately 175–200 questions and takes around four hours to complete, while the AANP exam consists of 150 questions and takes around three hours to complete (BoardVitals, 2018).
Palliative Care Certification and Continuing Education Requirements
In palliative care, the certification process is overseen by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). To obtain certification, 45 hours of palliative care training must be documented; approved Palliative Care Courses can satisfy this requirement. Candidates must also accumulate 2,000 hours of palliative care practice within a three-year period (Spiritual Care Association, 2019).
In New Jersey, continuing education requirements differ depending on the nurse's degree level. RNs must complete 30 contact hours every two years; LPNs and APNs have the same hour requirement, with differences appearing in the specific courses required — for example, Organ and Tissue Recovery for RNs, or pharmacology for APNs who hold prescribing authority (NetCE, 2019).
Employment Growth and Job Projections in Palliative Care
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects strong employment growth in palliative care between 2012 and 2022 (Green, 2015). The demand for palliative care has risen by more than sevenfold over the past three decades, and the number of hospice providers offering services has tripled in the same period (Green, 2015). Of all industries within the health care sector, the BLS identifies palliative care as the fastest growing and the field most likely to add the greatest number of jobs in the coming years (Green, 2015).
By 2022, it is expected that there will be:
- 1,800,000 personal care aides
- 1,300,000 home health aides
- A total of more than 1,200,000 job openings in palliative care personal and home health (Green, 2015)
- 700,000 medical secretaries in palliative care
- 275,000 physical therapists in palliative care
- 150,000 occupational therapists in palliative care
- 200,000 healthcare social workers in palliative care
- A total of more than 500,000 job openings in palliative care secretary, therapist, and social worker positions (Green, 2015)
Other positions in palliative care include dietitians, counselors, financial managers, receptionists and information clerks, human resources specialists, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and many others.
Hospice is clearly a growing industry, providing end-of-life care for patients and families. Palliative care is therefore a specialization that makes strong sense for nurses seeking credentials in a high-demand field. The industry is expanding as a cultural shift continues in that direction — driven by an aging population, smaller household sizes, and a resulting tendency for families to seek professional care for elderly loved ones who have entered the end-of-life phase.
Conclusion
Palliative care is a thriving industry, and there are numerous jobs available for RNs who are certified in the field. Annual salaries for these positions most typically begin around a respectable $75,000. The three postings described above represent only a small sample of the many opportunities available to nurses who have obtained specialized certification in palliative care. As the BLS data show, the industry is growing and a cultural shift is underway in American families toward relying on professional care providers for end-of-life care. As the population continues to age, palliative care services are expected to see greater demand, meaning the field will only continue to expand in the years ahead.
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