Certified Breast Care Nurse (CBCN)

ONCC will offer a Breast Care Certification program beginning in 2009. The Certified Breast Care Nurse (CBCN) examination will test the knowledge and tasks that are important to the competent performance of registered nurses who provide breast care. Nurses who are successful in completing the examination will be awarded the CBCN credential. CBCN certification will be valid for four years.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to take the test, candidates must have:

• Current, active, unrestricted RN license at the time of application and examination, and
• Minimum of one year (12 months) of experience as an RN within the three years (36 months) prior to application, and
• Minimum of 1,000 hours of breast care practice within the two and one-half years (30 months) prior to application, and
• Completion of a minimum of 10 contact hours of continuing education in breast care nursing within the 3 years (36 months) prior to application.

Breast care practice may include nursing practice along the entire continuum of breast care, from prevention and detection, diagnosis and treatment, survivorship, and end of life care.

Examination Content

The CBCN examination will be a multiple-choice examination. A detailed CBCN Test Blueprint will be published in 2008, as well as a list of references used to develop the examination content. The following Task and Knowledge Domains will be included on the Test Blueprint

I. Breast Health: Risk Assessment and Reduction, Screening, Early Detection

II. Diagnosis and Staging

III. Treatment Modalities: Local and Systemic

IV. Symptom Management (risk factors, pathophysiology, prevention, education, and management)

V. Psychosocial and Spiritual

VI. Survivorship

VII. End of Life Care

VIII. Professional Performance & Education

Links & Resources

Detailed information about CBCN certification will be published in 2008 on the ONCC web site and in a Test Bulletin, including the eligibility criteria, Test Blueprint, Reference List, and application form. Many resources on the subject of breast health and breast care are available; however, nurses may find the following resources to be useful.

Publications

Mahon, S.M. (Ed.). 2007. Site-Specific Cancer Series: Breast Cancer. Pittsburgh, PA: Oncology Nursing Society. Available at http://www.ons.org/publications/.

Continuing Education

Common Threads: A Focus on Hormonal Influences in Breast and Prostate Cancer FREE Archived Webcasts

Site-Specific Webcourse: Breast Cancer. To be available beginning November 2007

Press Releases

Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation Launches Breast Care Certification