Nutrition support is a specialized practice that requires the expertise of multiple health-care professionals including physicians, dietitians, pharmacists, physician assistants, and nurses.
NBNSC's credentialing program provides a valuable addition to your professional experience and contributes to excellent care. The Certified Nutrition Support Clinician®(CNSC®) credential identifies you as a qualified nutrition support provider. It is the most widely accepted, visible nutrition support certification with recognition both nationally and internationally.
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COVID-19 Update:
Information for the Fall 2020 CNSC Exam Testing Period(Posted July 21, 2020, updated August 7, 2020)
The NBNSC Board of Directors has approved to offer the Fall 2020 CNSC exam as a live remote proctored exam. The option to sit for the exam at a physical testing center as needed remains.
You will sign up for a live remote proctored exam by following the directions included in your scheduling authorization that is provided by the Professional Testing Corporation (PTC).
Candidates should carefully read and review the FAQs for live remote proctored exams at https://ptcny.com/remote-proctor-faqs/.
Please be advised that it is the candidate’sresponsibility to ensure equipment and workspace meet ALL therequirements for live remote proctoring. If a candidate makes an appointment for live remote proctoring and isunable to test due to not meeting technical requirements or physicalrequirements of the workspace, the candidate will forfeit their examinationfees and will need to follow the transfer policies in place for the exam aslisted in the candidate handbook.
Learn more about live remotely proctored exams specific to the ProProctor platform at https://www.prometric.com/proproctorcandidate.
Technical support that may be required during a live remote proctored exam can be directed to Prometric at https://ehelp.prometric.com/proproctor, or by phone US and Canada: 800-813-6779; International: +1-443-455-6299.
Questions regarding live remote proctored exam should be directed to the PTC at [email protected].
Information on the physical testing centers is continuously updated on the Prometric site at https://www.prometric.com/corona-virus-update.
Spring 2020 CNSC Exam Testing Period (Updated May 6, 2020)
The spring 2020 CNSC exam testing period originally scheduled for April25 – May 9, 2020 has been extended through June 30, 2020 to allow schedulingflexibility for those who are able to test. Please note, that with this testing window extension, examination results will not be available until the end of July 2020. PTC has sent communication to all candidates regarding the new testing period. If you require further assistance, please contact PTC at [email protected].
Early after the situation was officially characterized as a pandemic, Prometric made the difficult but necessary decision to close all Prometric test centers in the U.S. and Canada until April 16th, which was then extended through April 30th. Now, in accordance with the changing local and federal governance and advice from the CDC and WHO, Prometric has determined it is necessary to further extend the closure of test centers in the U.S. and Canada through May 31, 2020. This applies to all testing programs, with the exception of essential services programs, which resumed in a limited capacity on May 1, 2020. Prometric has actively worked with test sponsors to determine the programs that meet criteria for "essential workforce as defined by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency ( CISA). For the most up-to-date list of these programs, please click here. The CNSC examination offered by the National Board of Nutrition Support Certification (NBNSC) is included in the list under the grouping for Professional Testing Corporation (PTC).
Test centers in North America will be operating under strict social distancing guidelines at this time. For a full list of these procedures, please click here.
Details on Prometric and testing site availability is available on their website at https://www.prometric.com/corona-virus-update. We strongly suggest that you check your local, county and state restrictions as to what activities are allowed during this time period.
The NBNSC recognizes this is a challenging time and that sitting for a certification exam may not be a realistic option for many. To assist, the following options exist for those who have signed up for the CNSC exam during the April 25 – May 9, 2020 testing period.
- All CNSC currently certified clinicians (no lapse in certification) whose certification expires July 1, 2020 AND who have signed up to recertify during the April 25 – May 9 testing period will have their certification extended for one year and you will not be required to recertify until spring 2021. NOTE: this extension does not apply to any candidate who has let their certification lapse OR any recertification candidate who has not already signed up for the April 25 – May 9 offering of the CNSC exam. Records will be updated to reflect this change prior to the July 1, 2020 certification expiration date. Please allow time for this to occur in the official records
- Any candidate who knows they will not be able to sit for the exam for any COVID-19 related reason should contact the Professional Testing Corporation (PTC) at 212-356-0660 or [email protected] and request a transfer to another testing window. Be aware that like the majority of other businesses PTC is ‘working from home’ and there may be a delay in a response. As long as we receive your request prior to the exam date there will be no financial penalty incurred with this transfer. The fall exam period takes place October 5 – 19, 2020. The spring 2021 testing dates have not yet been determined, but are typically in the April/May timeframe.
- Any candidate who is still considering the options for testing this spring should continue to monitor announcements and look for any communication that may be sent regarding changes. In the event it is not possible to sit for the exam, a transfer to another testing window will be given without financial penalty.
Please evaluate your own personal situation and make the best decision for you in these unprecedented times.