CMSRN Certification Spotlight: Sandra Torres

The Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN^®) is the gold-standard certification demonstrating credibility in nursing expertise for the medical-surgical specialty and beyond. The Monitor’s CMSRN Certification Spotlight series highlights medical-surgical nurses who have achieved CMSRN certification, understand its value to the profession, and hope to inspire others to embark on their own journey to certification.

In this Q&A, Sandra Torres, BSN, RN, CMSRN, ONS-Certified, emphasizes the importance of medical-surgical nurses at the bedside, leading by example, and continuing to grow in your career.

What is the value of the CMSRN certification? What does it mean to you personally to be CMSRN certified?

Becoming CMSRN certified means recognizing what we do every day as medical-surgical nurses. Sometimes I think we don't give ourselves enough credit. At the bedside, we have to know about so many different conditions. Our patients don't come to us with only one problem. They can have cardiac, respiratory, renal, neurological, surgical, and many other issues happening at the same time. We must put everything together, prioritize, recognize changes, communicate with the team, educate our patients and families, and advocate when something doesn't look right.

That is what makes med-surg nursing so special to me.

Now, as a patient care supervisor, mentor, and preceptor, this certification means even more. I am always telling my nurses to grow, continue learning, get certified, become preceptors, and take advantage of opportunities. I feel that I must do the same.

I want to lead by example. My position changed, but I never stopped being a nurse, and I never want to stop learning.

How did you learn about the CMSRN certification? What made you decide to pursue and achieve certification?

One experience that really influenced me was attending the 2024 AMSN Convention in Toronto, where I presented our poster about our Bedside Mobility Assessment Tool (BMAT) and Activity Measure-Post Acute Care (AM-PAC) research and patient outcomes.

I was very proud to share the work we had done, but the convention showed me something else that I was not expecting: Being surrounded by so many med-surg nurses was powerful.

I heard nurses talking about experiences that were very similar to mine and the experiences of the nurses I work with every day. Different hospitals, different places, but many of the same challenges, the same passion for our patients, and the same desire to improve nursing care.

It made me think differently about our specialty.

As med-surg nurses, we really have to know something about almost everything. Every disease, every symptom, every change in condition can come through our doors. We must think quickly, prioritize, advocate, educate, and coordinate so many different parts of the patient's care.

Being at that convention made me feel very proud to be a med-surg nurse. I was there presenting research, but at the same time I was learning from other nurses and seeing how much we can empower each other.

That experience stayed with me and was one of the reasons I wanted to become CMSRN certified.

I also wanted to do it because I am a mentor and preceptor. If I am encouraging other nurses to continue growing professionally, I need to show them that I am willing to continue growing too.

What advice would you give to medical-surgical nurses who have not yet achieved their CMSRN?

Don't underestimate yourself.

Sometimes we don't realize how much we know because we do it every day. Think about everything you manage during one shift and how many decisions you make for your patients.

You already have so much knowledge from the bedside.

Don't wait until you think you know everything because nursing is a career where we are always learning. Use the certification process to review what you know, strengthen the areas where you need more knowledge, and become more confident in yourself.

And after you achieve it, help somebody else.

That part is very important to me. Share your experience. Encourage another nurse. Become a mentor or preceptor. Bring somebody with you when you have an opportunity.

I believe we grow more when we help each other grow.

Is there anything medical-surgical nurses should know before beginning their CMSRN journey?

Don't look at it only as an exam that you need to pass. Enjoy the process and use it to recognize everything you have learned throughout your nursing career.

For me, Toronto was an important part of that realization. I went there thinking about presenting our BMAT research and sharing how we were looking at mobility assessment and patient outcomes. I came back thinking even more about who we are as med-surg nurses and how important our specialty is.

It also reminded me that professional growth can happen in many ways. It can be a certification, research, presenting a poster, or becoming a preceptor. Sometimes it is simply helping another nurse through a difficult shift.

I also tell the nurses I mentor that they don't need a leadership title to be leaders. You are leading when you advocate for your patient, when you speak up because something doesn't look right, when you teach another nurse, or when you look for a better way to provide care.

CMSRN is another accomplishment in my journey, and I am very proud of it. But I still have a lot that I want to learn and accomplish. I want to continue growing, and I want the nurses around me to grow with me.

To learn more about CMSRN certification and start your certification journey, visit the MSNCB website.