CEN web review

If it is the one by Jeff Solheim I recommend him. Check with your ED educators, maybe they have some resources as well. I highly recommend taking as many practice tests as possible and reviewing those answers.

Yes, that is the only one right now.
I've seen it parts of it.

I had previously considered authoring an online web review myself so people could do the review from home rather than having to travel to one of my classes but the problem becomes copyright issues. It's too easy for someone to copy the streaming video and distribute it.

I also have a bit of an issue with "online reviews" because you pay pretty much the same as a DVD set but you don't get to keep anything. It's one time and done.

Ideally what I am planning on doing one day is taking our 2 day live class and teleconferencing it via the internet so people could attend a "live" class from the comfort of their homes/offices.

But back to your question - I don't feel the Solheim/ENA web review is a value because you can't keep it -AND- it's broken up into segments which may/may not fit in with your schedule/lifestyle, PLUS there is no opportunity for live interaction/questions.

Hope this helps!
-MB

I haven't seen/heard the Laura V. DVD, but I do have the Laura V audio CD's (Thank you Lunah!).... I'm in the process of reviewing them formally currently.
I've briefly listened to them once and my first impression is that there is an awful lot of "filler" and fluff in her audio discs. In otherwords, she gets off topic quite a bit (like every 5 minutes). What she says is interesting and entertaining but often it's completely irrelevant to the CEN content. Sometimes she wanders down a critical care pathway that is WAY beyond the CEN knowledge base.

This may be fine for some people, and I can see where people enjoy her delivery, however, if you're paying some $$$ for a product, you probably don't want to sit through a bunch of stuff that isn't even related to the point at hand.

My next step is to compare her entire audio CD's to the actual CEN blueprintand then to publish a reveiw showing what is and what is not covered from the exam.

-MB

I'm going to guess her CDs don't match the blueprint very well -- as hherrn noted, I don't think her material has been updated in some time. I do love the way she teaches ABGs, though.

I'll send you a PM.

I am familiar with two online CEN review courses (there may be others).

The first is the online Emergency Nurses Association online CEN webinar. It is offered live during the summer, usually two hours every other week. But all the sessions are archived and can be listened to anytime after the live webinar. The series covers all topics listed by the Board of Certification of Emergency Nursing (BCEN), and includes the voice of the instructor (Jeff Solheim), plus a visual of PowerPoint slides and over 100 practice questions. If you go to www.ena.org, you will find a link to the CEN Review Web Series on the homepage.

MedEd seminars also offers an online CEN Review course. It is archived and has a picture of the instructor in one corner teaching an 18 hour CEN review course, and there is a visual of the slides for the course on the screen as well, so you get the advantage of seeing the instructor, seeing visuals and hearing the instructor. There is over 100 practice questions with this course. The link for this one is www.mededseminars.net. Once there, follow the distance learning link.

I highly recommend taking a course of some sort as part of your preparation for the exam. Whether you take an online course or a live one, it will help you immensely. Also purchase some books with practice questions and do lots of practice questions to "regain" the skill of the multiple choice exam (CEN is 175 multiple choice questions) and to assess your readiness and areas of weakness. ENA has several good books with practice questions that you can get on their website (www.ena.org) and go the "shop" menu. Jeff Solheim - the same guy who does the CEN Reviews for ENA - also has some great review books on his website - www.solheimenterprises.com.

Good luck! It's such a great feeling when you have passed.

FYI I have taken courses from Jeff Solheim and he is one of the smartest nurses I have met...I have not taken his CEN review course though. I did take a review course before I took my exam and it did nothing to help me pass it at all. What did help me pass was my experience and the fact that I had taken care of patients with the same c/o that they asked about.

Seems that people think a course is going to be a sure pass...not true at all. Did a review course make you pass the NCLEX?...probably not...it was more than likely the years of training you had.

I'd recommend just taking the practice tests on the ENA website so you can get a feel for the type of questions you will be asked and review some of the topics that you feel you might be weak on (there is a list of topics on their website as well).