Exam registration for Certified Global Nurse – Rehabilitation (CGN-R) to open in July, handbook available now
(PHILADELPHIA, June 27, 2024) – CGFNS International, a worldwide leader in international credentials evaluation to support health worker careers, has launched the first-ever global credential for registered nurses working in rehabilitation, habilitation or restorative care.
The Certified Global Nurse – Rehabilitation (CGN-R) credential is intended to advance and improve services for the more than two billion people worldwide who need this care. It has been developed specifically for eligible registered nurses worldwide who wish to have their applied experience and competencies in rehab care recognized and verified by passing a certification examination.
The exam was created in collaboration with a global taskforce of more than 60 rehabilitation nursing experts from 17 countries who contributed their knowledge and guidance to develop a global competency framework for rehabilitation nursing and to create a test blueprint for a competency-based exam. The taskforce’s framework is aligned with the Rehabilitation Competency Framework established by the World Health Organization.
Accordingly, those who earn the CGN-R credential will be able to show their employers, prospective employers and others that they have been assessed against a global industry standard for rehabilitation care and that their expertise has been benchmarked against other nurses in rehab care worldwide.
Registration for the CGN-R exam will open in July, with testing dates to be scheduled for November. Registered (first-level) nurses with at least two years’ work experience in rehabilitation care are eligible to apply. Further details on eligibility requirements, exam topics and how to apply can be found in the exam handbook, now available at the CGFNS website.
“This will be the first global specialty certification offered anywhere for rehab nursing. It represents a huge shift for our global health workforce, for whom specialty credentials are often out of reach and require migration to the countries that offer them. The CGN-R certification will enable rehabilitation nurses everywhere to demonstrate a validated specialty skillset to their employers, carry the credential with them wherever they want to work in the world, and advance their career opportunities,” said Julia To Dutka, Chief of the CGFNS Global Health Workforce Development Institute, which is leading the initiative to develop this and other global credentials for the rehabilitation workforce.
“Provider certifications enable health systems and hospitals to confidently identify the most well-equipped workforce candidates to meet their burgeoning care needs. At a time when qualified interdisciplinary care teams are critically needed in rehabilitation care, the CGN-R establishes a global standard against which employers can set the bar for provider qualifications within their health systems,” said Terrence Carolan, Managing Director of Medical Rehabilitation and Aging Services of CARF International, an independent, nonprofit organization that accredits more than 66,000 rehabilitation and other health and human service providers on five continents and that has advised CGFNS in developing the CGN-R credential.
Nurses who sit for the initial CGN-R exam in November will receive a discount on exam fees.
CGFNS is also offering an early adopter program for hospitals, health systems or rehabilitation organizations that would like to invest in specialty certification for their rehab nurse workforce. The program includes opportunities to host the CGN-R exam onsite for their rehab nursing teams and earn an early adopter’s badge for organizational recognition.
Information on additional credentials for other health workers in a rehabilitative/habilitative/restorative environment—including physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and rehab technicians, among others—will be made available in the coming months.
More information on the program can be found at https://www.cgfns.org/services/certification/global-rehabilitation/.
About CGFNS International, Inc.
Founded in 1977 and based in Philadelphia, CGFNS International is an immigration-neutral not-for-profit organization proudly serving as the world’s largest credentials evaluation organization for the nursing and allied health professions. CGFNS International is an NGO in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and is a member of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO).