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The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of participation in a medical-surgical certification and practice review course on the participants' clinical nursing practice. A descriptive survey was mailed to 119 nurses 4 months after the completion of the 2005 course. The majority responding agreed that participation in the course had a positive effect on their self-confidence, competence, leadership, and initiative. The written clinical examples demonstrated the efficacy of the course in the domains of knowledge acquisition and validation, enhancement of confidence, and the ability to contribute to collegial discussions. These results demonstrate successful achievement of the ultimate goal of staff education: to see nurses translate newly acquired knowledge into practice.

Many nurses desire to become certified but may have difficulty finding the time and resources to prepare for the certification examination. A free, on-site, medical-surgical certification review course was developed to meet the education and support needs for nurses to earn certification. This article describes a blueprint for course development and implementation of a certification review course at an institution.