Addictions Nursing Certification Board (ANCB)
Receives Reaccreditation of its Certified Addictions Registered Nurse (CARN) and Certified Addictions Registered Nurse-Advanced Practice (CARN-AP) from the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification
Mt Laurel, NJ, June 28, 2023 - The Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC) is pleased to announce the Addictions Nursing Certification Board (ANCB) has been granted reaccreditation for the Certified Addictions Registered Nurse (CARN) and the Certified Addictions Registered Nurse-Advanced Practice (CARN-AP) certification programs.
The Addictions Nursing Certification Board was established as a committee of the International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA) to develop an addiction certification exam for registered nurses (RN). The Certified Addiction Registered Nurse (CARN) exam began in 1989, with an initial cohort of 334 CARNs. Due to changing needs among the nursing workforce, the CARN- Advanced Practice (AP) exam was developed and launched in 2000. ANCB is now an independent, nonprofit organization.
Certification in addictions nursing promotes the highest standards of addiction nursing practice through development, implementation, and coordination of all aspects of clinical nursing care. Over thirty years have passed since the first CARN exam. We now have 1,299 nurses who hold addictions nursing certifications across the United States and Canada. Over 68% of those are registered nurses (n=887) and the remaining 31% are advanced practice nurses (n=412). ANCB is proud of and congratulates our certified nurses who work within all settings and who are dedicated to fulling the mission and purpose of ANCB.
ANCB is extremely honored to be recognized by the ABSNC as having met these rigorous standards for both our CARN and CARN-AP certification programs. We sincerely thank each one of our addiction nursing colleagues who brought their expertise to ANCB to ensure reaccreditation, including providing item writing, practice analysis and role delineation study. We achieved reaccreditation because of our amazing addiction nursing colleagues who are committed to addiction nursing practice excellence. We look forward to continuing to certify the next generations of addiction nursing specialists through our reaccreditation status.
ABSNC accreditation is a peer-reviewed mechanism that allows nursing certifying organizations to obtain program accreditation by demonstrating compliance with the highest quality standards in the industry. To maintain accreditation, programs must exhibit continuing adherence to the 18 standards set forth. “ABSNC Accreditation represents a recognized standard in certification testing and indicates that the credential meets or exceeds legal and regulatory guidelines,” said Felicia Lembesis, CAE, Executive Director.
The mission of ABSNC is to recognize quality specialty nursing and associated non-RN certification programs through accreditation. It is the only accrediting body specifically for nursing certification. ABSNC currently accredits more than 60 certification programs from 20 specialty nursing certification organizations. The accreditation standards offered by ABSNC include Examination-Based Certification Programs, Portfolio Assessment Certification Programs, and Assessment-Based Certificate Programs. For more information about ABSNC and its accreditation standards, please visit http://absnc.org or contact Felicia Lembesis, ABSNC Executive Director, (flembesis@ahint.com, 856-439-9080).
