When Denise Downey, MSN, RN, CPEN, received the *2012 Distinguished CPEN Award for exemplary support and recognition for certification in pediatric emergency nursing, it gave her a sense of professional satisfaction. She had the knowledge and skills to make her an expert in pediatric nursing. “It was such an honor to be recognized on such a large scale,” said Downey.

Downey, who has been a pediatric emergency room nurse for 18 years and a nurse educator for 8 years, earned her CPEN certification about 3 years ago when the leadership at Boston Children’s Hospital encouraged certification for all its emergency department nurses. She knew she needed to lead by example and took the exam. “I couldn’t ask the nurses to do it if I hadn’t done it myself.” Read the full story.

Help BCEN® recognize outstanding dedication to Emergency Nursing. Send in a nomination (or nominate yourself!) for one of three BCEN Awards which will be presented at the Certification Recognition Breakfast sponsored by BCEN during the ENA Annual Conference on Saturday, September 21, 2013, in Nashville. Click on this article's title to learn the full details.

It is now even easier to find the information you need to get certified or stay certified! Based on your input from surveys and usability tests, we’ve made updates to the navigation and look of the website.  We welcome your feedback – tell us on Facebook or send us an e-mail. Click on this article's title to read more.

Use your BCEN Account to find and submit everything needed to get certified and stay certified. Click on "My Account" located in the top right corner of almost every page on this site to log in to your BCEN Account. From within your BCEN Account access online forms to apply for your exam, and to log and submit your CEs for recertification. You can publish your BCEN credentials to a third-party as proof of your certification status, track your certification progress, view your account history and use many self-service tools. Click on this article's title to learn more.