CCI Blog

The Certified Surgical Services Manager (CSSM) credential is one of a kind. CSSM is a perioperative management credential designed for perioperative managers, directors, and nurses who oversee personnel, a budget, a business unit, or a service line. Earning the CSSM is a mark of distinction and recognizes the significant role managers play in delivering safe patient care. If you’re in a perioperative management role, then the CSSM certification may be right for you!

Nurses embark on the journey to earn certification for numerous reasons. Achieving certification validates your knowledge and skills as a perioperative nurse, provides a sense of personal accomplishment, and can advance your career. Certification is an asset to the field of nursing and benefits the entire healthcare community - patients, nurses, managers, hospital administrators, and facilities all see value from perioperative certification.

Congratulations! You have taken the first step toward earning your credential by recognizing the importance of certification and deciding to begin exam preparation. Now is the time to study and make sure you adequately prepare. Here are a few tips to help as you start this process.

Professional development is an integral component of staying informed on new findings and best practices in a continuously changing field. By completing professional development activities, you can learn about current best practices and new findings within the perioperative field. These opportunities come in a variety of forms and are available to everyone. Here are some professional development opportunities for you to consider.

In a profession where your focus lies on taking care of others, it can be challenging to find the time and energy to take care of yourself. Self-care is doing an activity to improve your health, whether it's mentally or physically. Making the time for self-care is incredibly important and can significantly improve your overall health. Here are a few ideas to try out!

CCI believes that registered nurses who have attained certification, and facilities that support the certification goals of their nurses, show commitment to upholding the highest standards in patient care. The TrueNorth Award was created by CCI to recognize facilities that have used certification as a guide for their perioperative nursing staff. Please join us in congratulating Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for their achievement in being named the 2020 TrueNorth runner-up.

Staying well informed on new findings and best practices is an essential component to remaining safe and healthy during a pandemic. This is especially true for those working on the frontlines. There are endless resources available concerning COVID-19, but not all are credible. We have compiled a list of reputable resources that are beneficial for nurses as they navigate the changing landscape of healthcare during COVID-19.

In many ways, certification acts as a compass directing a nurse’s clinical practice towards accepted standards. Nurses who attain certification, and the facilities that support them, demonstrate a commitment to improving patient outcomes and mastering the knowledge it takes to do so. CCI created the TrueNorth Award as an avenue for recognizing facilities that use certification to guide their perioperative nursing staff to be models of competent practice, lifelong learners, and advocates for patient safety.

We are pleased to have had the opportunity to sit down with Diana Braswell, the Clinical Nurse Manager, Perioperative Services, at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Pflugerville, to the processes setin place by the 2020 TrueNorth winners, which contributed to them receiving the award.

The holiday season can be especially stressful for nurses. While many are jet setting to visit family and friends throughout the holiday season, countless nurses are working long hours instead. Often, the facility is short-staffed this time of year, which means that the nurses working those undesirable shifts are having to add to their already massive workload.

In 2019, CCI was honored to present Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children with the TrueNorth Award. CCI’s TrueNorth Award recognizes facilities that use certification as a compass to guide their perioperative nurses towards being lifelong learners, models of competent practice, and advocates for excellence and patient safety.