In the short walk out of the testing center to her car, Dana Baker, MSN, RN, CRNP, VA-BC™, received the passing result of her June 2023 Vascular Access-Board Certified™ exam. She immediately shared the news with friends, family, and coworkers.
Now, a few months into her new credential, she shares some tips to help prospective test takers.
“Any time you have the opportunity to be a specialist in your area, [certification] is important,” she said.
Baker challenged the VA-BC™ after a year on her current IV team. But she has had years of experience in vascular access through eight years in the ICU and two years on her first vascular access team in 2017. She says these chances to encounter a variety of procedures helped her greatly in the test.
“I was pleasantly surprised that I already knew the answers based on the exposure that I’d had,” Baker says. “I didn’t realize how much data I was collecting in the process, which gave me a sense of accomplishment as well.”
Baker advises those who are preparing for the exam to have a strong knowledge of various lines and their placements and maintenance.
One thing that has been particularly helpful for Baker’s team as they prepare for the VA-BC™ exam is a t-shirt printed with the image of the human skeleton on it. The team tapes lines to the shirt so clinicians can visualize the line in the body.
She recommends that clinicians new to the specialty should seek out the rationale behind these decisions to be able to apply their knowledge, both to the exam and on the job.
Baker says that the exam validated the knowledge that she already had, and it made her more confident when advocating for patients and making line recommendations to providers.
“I’ve run into situations where I need to use the expertise that I’ve gained that is evident through the certification and have been able to make recommendations based on that,” she says.
Baker also studied vascular access-focused online videos, published research, and even articles from the manufacturers of certain lines to brush up for the test. Studying can look different for other clinicians, she acknowledges. Some of her teammates were more comfortable with study guides for the exam.
After passing the exam, Baker’s institution acknowledged her accomplishment in their internal email highlighting the news of the week. They have also been known to get cakes to celebrate new credentials on the IV team.
Baker ordered a custom badge for work that reads ‘MSN, RN, VA-BC’ to keep the celebration going. After all, she says, she has earned it. Other clinicians and patients have since asked her what ‘VA-BC’ means.
“I told them, that means I’m a specialist in vascular access… I [am] proud of that.”
