Who gives specialist certifications for hospital-based nurses?

• A. AACN
• B. ANA
• C. NLN
• D. ANCC

Answer: (D)

Specialist certifications for hospital-based nurses are issued by ANCC, the credentialing arm of the American Nurses Association. ANCC develops, administers, and maintains national board certifications across many clinical specialties, and these credentials are widely recognized and often required for advanced practice roles in hospital settings.

While AACN is a professional organization that offers its own critical-care certifications through its certification program, NLN focuses on nursing education and testing rather than hospital specialty certifications, and ANA is the parent organization. ANCC is the body that directly provides the certifications most commonly used to validate specialty expertise in hospitals.