ABPANC News

For complete information --

Visit the ABPANC Web site at: www.cpancapa.org

Registering online is easy!

When you apply online, you will need to have your ASPAN membership number (if applicable, to receive the member fee discount), your RN license number, and the names and contact information for two individuals who can verify your eligibility information, if you are randomly selected for audit.

Click the Certification Link and follow the instructions for viewing/downloading the newly revised Candidate Handbook and Appendices.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! If you are already CPAN and/or CAPA certified, ABPANC looks forward to your assistance in spreading the word about the online application process, registration deadlines and computer-based testing. As more and more perianesthesia nurses become CPAN and/or CAPA certified, our vision becomes a reality!

Click on this link for the Latest News from ABPANC

ABPANC'S VISION

Recognizing and respecting the unequaled excellence
in the mark of the CPAN and CAPA credential,
perianesthesia nurses will seek it,
managers will require it,
employers will support it,
and the public will demand it!

For more information on certification go to http://www.cpancapa.org

ABPANC NEWS TO SHARE Winter 2011

In General

• New online Practice Exams (access on ABPANC’s website under Certification tab) are available for people studying for CPAN® and/or CAPA® certification. Using a new methodology for constructing the Practice Exams, there are virtually an unlimited number of 50 question practice exams available to take! Please read the information on the website about the practice exams. Each practice exam costs
$35. Contact hours may also be earned. Beginning January 3, 2011 through December 31, 2011, buy one practice exam and get another one free!

• March 19 is Certified Nurses Day! For ideas on how to celebrate CPAN®/CAPA® certification, visit the ABPANC website’s home page and click the first bullet under ABPANC NEWS FLASH. A free poster is available for downloading! An idea for Components is to download one of the larger, color version posters and have those certified in your component sign the poster. Display the poster at your meetings! February 1 is the deadline for receipt of nominations for ABPANC’s awards! Component leaders – your component may be eligible for the Shining Star Award – visit ABPANC’s website for an award brochure! In addition, one of your component members may just be the next Advocacy Award winner! Read all about the Advocacy Award on the website!

• Photographs needed for the CPAN/CAPA Luncheon at the ASPAN Conference in Seattle! You don’t have to be present. We may even use them on the web site or brochures. Electronic format is required so email your pictures to bniebuhr@proexam.org by March 1. We will need a photo release form as well. It’s available at www.cpancapa.org. Click on Resources tab and then the ABPANC Forms link. The Photo Release Form is the first form listed. Pictures received after March 1 will not be included.
• ABPANC is interested in being present for Component Annual Meetings. The Directors are willing to exhibit, address the group or offer a contact hour presentation on a certification related topic. For a listing of the ABPANC Board Liaisons to ASPAN’s Components, visit the ABPANC website at www.cpancapa.org, click on the ABOUT US tab, and then click on ABPANC Leadership link, followed by the Board of Directors link. A table listing ABPANC Board Liaisons to ASPAN’s Components is found at the bottom of the Board of Directors page. As you begin to plan your Fall 2011 seminars, keep
ABPANC in mind! Bear in mind, however, that ABPANC is unable, due to a conflict of interest, to have representation at any CPAN®/CAPA® examination review courses.
ALRT (ABPANC Leader Resource Team) members who are volunteer leaders for ABPANC also assist with exhibiting at Component meetings.

• Role Delineation Study (RDS) Update – The findings from the 2010-2011 RDS survey are in and we would like to thank all of you who participated in the survey. 1000 CPANs and 1000 CAPAs were randomly selected to complete the survey and we had a 40% return rate which is outstanding! The RDS Advisory Team and ABPANC Board of Directors will be reviewing the findings and approving any recommended changes to the CPAN®/CAPA® Examination Blueprints. The first examinations based

on the revised blueprints will be offered Fall, 2012. Stay tuned for more information about these changes.
• The website for ABPANC is www.cpancapa.org The latest information about certification, recertification and our other programs, such as ways to get involved as a volunteer, and ABPANC Awards, is available here.
• The number of CPAN and CAPA certified nurses has surpassed the 9000 mark! As of this newsletter, we have 5,648 CPANS 3,519 CAPAs for a total of 9,176 certified nurses, of which 336 are dually certified.
• The 2010-2011 ABPANC Board of Directors are: Kathy Paskewitz, RN, CPAN, President
Teresa Emmons, MSN, RN, CPAN, Secretary/Treasurer
Sandra Barnes, MS, RN, CPAN
Patricia Bouchard, RN, CAPA Cheryl Coleman, BSN, RN, CPAN Paulette Corbin, Public Member Jeannie Mauser, BPS, RN, CPAN/CAPA Anthony Pridemore, BSN, RN, CPAN
Alisa Shackelford, RN, MBA, MA, CCRN, CAPA
Kim Kraft, BSN, RN, CPAN/CAPA, ASPAN President and Ex-Officio Member of ABPANC Board Bonnie Niebuhr, MS, RN, CAE, ABPANC Chief Executive Officer and Ex-Officio Member of ABPANC Board
• Interested in the ABPANC Coach Program (finding a Coach) or becoming a Coach? Contact Zelda Williams at zwilliams@proexam.org for information. Many CPANs and CAPAs are already serving as unofficial coaches. This program can help them in the process, give them recognition and offer contact hours for their efforts.
• ABPANC is committed to preserving the environment - being green! All ABPANC documents including the Certification Candidate Handbook, Recertification Handbook and the CertificatioNOW Q&A Brochure are found online at www.cpancapa.org.
• If a CPAN® and/or CAPA® certified nurse is interested in writing examination questions (items) for
the certification examinations, go to ABPANC’s website and click on the Get Involved section. This is an excellent way to be a part of the process and to earn free contact hours toward your recertification requirements. Most of the work is done on line.
• ABPANC offers many CPAN® and CAPA® related products – Visit the ABPANC Store, found under the
Resources section of the website.
• ABPANC needs photos to place on the ABPANC website, for photo presentations and for the CPAN/CAPA® Breakfast Music Video. We need photos of CPAN® and/or CAPA ® certified nurses doing what they do best! Caring for patients! Photos should be sent to Bonnie Niebuhr, ABPANC CEO at bniebuhr@proexam.org. Don’t forget to include the Photo Release Form, found under the Resources section of the website.

Examination-Related Information

• For information about finding a Certification Coach or forming study groups, contact zwilliams@proexam.org.
• www.Prometric.com/abpanc is your contact for the most up to date certification exam locations
• Reminder - In order for an examination candidate to receive a reduced examination fee of $285 he/she must already be a member of ASPAN when applying online. Whatever name is entered on the online examination application MUST exactly match the name in the ASPAN member database. Also, the name entered on the examination application MUST exactly match the name of the candidate’s government issued photo ID that will be presented at the Prometric testing center. If the candidate’s name will not match their name in the ASPAN database, the candidate must contact ASPAN (877-737-
9696) to change the name prior to applying online.

Examination Registration & Administration - Dates & Deadlines

Spring 2011

Registration Window – Online	January 10 – March 7
Registration Deadline – Online	March 7 by 11:59 p.m. ET
Time Period for Scheduling Examination Appt. with Prometric	Upon receipt of your ATT letter through May 12
Examination Administration Window	April 4 – May 14
Deadline for Cancelling Appt	3 business days before scheduled test date
Postmark deadline for requesting Withdrawal, refund, rollover from PES	On or before last day of examination administration window

Fall 2011

Registration Window – Online	July 11 – September 5
Registration Deadline – Online	September 5 by 11:59 p.m. ET
Time Period for Scheduling Examination Appt. with Prometric	Upon receipt of your ATT letter through November 10
Examination Administration Window	October 3 - November 12
Deadline for Cancelling Appt	3 business days before scheduled test date
Postmark deadline for requesting Withdrawal, refund, rollover from PES	On or before last day of examination administration window

• FAQ's, found under the Certification section of the ABPANC website, answer questions concerning the exams. For example, candidates may sit for both CPAN® and CAPA® exams on the same day but need to submit two separate applications and fees.

Recertification-Related Information

• The process for recertifying is now done completely online. Those individuals due for recertification must read the Recertification Handbook (available on ABPANC’s website) under the Recertification section. Instructions will be provided in the first renewal notice, sent to certificants in July (for the Fall recertification cycle) and December (for the Spring recertification cycle).
• To access the online Recertification System, go to the ABPANC website and click on the link found on
the Home Page, under the Get Recertified heading.
• Key points about the changes in the Recertification program include:
• For all certificants who initially certified in the Fall (October or November), the certification period is from October 1 through 11:59 pm October 31 (3 years later). Contact hours must be accrued during this timeframe. Certification status will expire at 12 midnight on November 1.
• For all certificants who initially certified in the Spring (April or May) the certification period is now April
1 through 11:59 pm April 30 (3 years later). Contact hours must be accrued during this timeframe. Certification status will expire at 12 midnight on May 1.
• Unless certificants successfully recertify, credentials expire at the end of three years, at midnight on
May 1 or November 1.
• ABPANC has an Online Recertification System. Certificants can log in and track their contact hours in the new electronic filing cabinet, update their contact information, receive emails from ABPANC, and complete the recertification process.
Certificants can create a user account anytime by visiting the ABPANC website and clicking the Create
User Account link found on the Home Page under Get Recertified.
Certificants can enter their contact hours as they earn them by visiting the ABPANC website and clicking the Electronic Filing Cabinet link found on the Home Page under Get Recertified.

2011 ASPAN National Conference

We hope to see you in Seattle! We are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the CPAN® credential! Please stop by our table at Component night, visit with the Board of Directors and have a cupcake! We encourage you to visit with the ABPANC BOD and our staff at our CPAN® and CAPA® Certification Booth in the Exhibit Hall to pick up your Certification ribbon. If you are certified, be sure to register for the CPAN® /CAPA® Celebration Lunch on Monday April 4 from 12:15-2:15 pm. Attend one of our many sessions covering a myriad of topics surrounding certification and our programs.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUING SUPPORT OF CPAN® AND CAPA® CERTIFICATION!

ABPANC

800-6ABPANC abpanc@proexam.org www.cpancapa.org