Healthcare worker burnout and staff shortages have put immense pressure on healthcare organizations, intensifying nursing and physician turnover. In response, the National Academies of Medicine (NAM) launched the National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being in 2022, urging healthcare leaders to take meaningful action. But the question remains: how do you measure the success of your well-being programs?

Well-Being Excellence™ offers a solution by providing evidence-based standards to evaluate and enhance your organization's well-being efforts. This credential builds upon ANCC's legacy of recognizing healthcare organizations that prioritize their workforce's well-being and foster a culture of safety and health.

By earning this credential, organizations demonstrate a firm commitment to creating a supportive work environment, attracting and retaining top talent, and improving overall employee satisfaction and engagement.

Benefits of Well-Being Excellence™:

1. Strengthen recruitment and retention efforts
2. Boost workforce well-being and morale
3. Improve employee engagement and satisfaction
4. Enhance organizational resilience
5. Establish advanced practices in well-being programs
6. Position your organization as a market leader in healthcare well-being
7. Potential consideration for deemed elements with other ANCC credentialing programs

How to Get Started: Take the first step by completing our Well-Being Self-Assessment to evaluate your current programs and identify areas for improvement.

The development of Well-Being Excellence™ is the culmination of extensive research and collaboration with expert panelists. By engaging in a pilot process across diverse healthcare organizations, ANCC has refined a credential that addresses real-world challenges of enhancing workforce well-being organization wide.

Registration for Well-Being Excellence™ opens December 1, 2024. Prepare your submission in advance to meet key deadlines and ensure timely participation.

Application Phases:

1. Registration: Opens December 1, 2024
2. Application Components: Submit the Well-Being Excellence Document and have the opportunity to participate in an optional Well-Being Survey.
3. ANCC Commission Review: Final decisions will be made by the ANCC Commission.

Application Deadlines:

• March 1st Cycle: Register by July-March of the prior year
• July 1st Cycle: Register by November-July of the prior year
• December 1st Cycle: Register by April-December of the prior year

Step 1: 

Prior to registering to apply for the Well-Being Excellence credential, all interested organizations must meet the eligibility requirements.

Eligibility requirements:

• Nurses must be employed in the settings applying for the well-being excellence credential. No minimum number of nurses.
• Types of settings: hospitals and other clinical care settings, universities, professional associations, technology, pharmaceutical, medical equipment companies, insurers, others
• Minimum number of employees: 10 across all participating sites
  • No limit on the number of sites
  • Applicant may choose to apply as a system or single entity
• Executive Owner
  • An executive level well-being sponsor is in place
  • A well-being champion is in place

Step 2:

After eligibility is determined, the organization must then complete Application Registration via the Registration for the Well-Being Excellence Credential Application Registration form. All Applicant Registration must be received 8 -12 months prior to the intended Well-Being Excellence Document submission cycle date.

Applicant Registration includes:

• Completing the registration form.
• Uploading the Well-Being Executive Sponsor curriculum vitae.
• Payment of the non-refundable Applicant Registration fee ($1,000) at the time of application. NOTE: An invoice with payment instructions will be emailed within 14 business days of completing the registration form.

Remittance address:
ANCC Pathway
P.O. Box 505035
St. Louis, MO 63150-5035

If paying by credit card, ACH or Wire Transfer, email the Well-Being Excellence Office for more information at wellbeingexcellence@ana.org.

Fee Structure

Refer to the calculator by downloading the Well-Being Excellence Fee Calculator file.

Fee Calculator

Applicant Registration

Register for the Well-Being Excellence Credential