Telemetry to CCRN???

[erika-ny]

Hi! I posted this in the Specialty forum but realized it was probably appropriate for the new nurse forum as well.

I am a new grad who was recently hired on a telemetry unit. I was hoping to get hired via an ICU internship program at the hospital where I am working but my start date was too late for that. Acute care is my main interest, and I eventually want to get critical care certification (CCRN) after a few years of experience. My question is this: Can I sit for the CCRN exam after working for a few years on telemetry or would I need to eventually get a job in an ICU first, and work there for awhile before sitting for the exam?

Any information would be a great help.

Thanks!

Erika

[deeDawntee, RN]

http://www.certcorp.org/certcorp/certcorp.nsf/certcorp/ccrn

Check out this link, it will tell you everything you need to know.

Yes you do need to be in critical care to sit for the exam, but the link will tell you the specifics.

Good luck!!!

[erika-ny]

Hi there,

Thanks for this reply. I had actually looked over that site with a fine toothed comb before posting my new thread. It said that previous to sitting for the CCRN exam, you should work a certain number of hours with acutely ill patients. But it also said that acutely ill patients are not only in the ICU. It said that these patients are found on floors like the CCU, cardiac cath lab, emergency dept, EPS, progressive units and telemetry floors.

So I know that I have to work in acute care. I guess my question is, given what I read about the different places where you can't work in acute care, is telemetry really considered acute care. E.g., if I worked for 2 years on my unit (telemetry), would I be eligible to sit for the CCRN? It's not totally clear to me whether that would be ok or not.

Thanks for any insight!

Erika

[incublissRN, BSN, RN]

I think you could sit for PCCN, rather than CCRN.

Check this out: http://www.certcorp.org//pdfLibra.NSF/Files/CCRNorPCCNExamFlyer/$file/CCRNorPCCNExamFlyer.pdf

[erika-ny]

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks so much!

Erika