[nurselizk]

You need 1750 hrs of direct patient care experience to take the exam. At 36 hrs/wk, that's about 49 weeks. If you've got your time in and feel comfortable taking the test, go for it. I took it after 1 yr 9 mos and did fine.

[care_icu]

Originally Posted by foxyhill21

Do you recommend someone taking it with less than 1 year of experience? I really want to take it because I feel that the test will help me to understand the reasoning behind my nursing interventions.

hi thanks
hi every one.....i just joined now and i wanna be icu nurse but the problem is i m currently working in nursing home and i dont know how to get into i c u ...i tried hospitals but they refused pls advise me abt the new grad programe in chicago area thank you

[nurselizk]

Did they refuse you a job in ICU or any job? You will probably need to go to med-surg before you go to critical care.

[BBFRN]

Originally Posted by nurselizk

Did they refuse you a job in ICU or any job? You will probably need to go to med-surg before you go to critical care.

This is not necessarily true any more. Some hospitals have very good training programs for new nurses who want to work in the ICU. I worked in such a facility, and the new grads did very well with that added support and training.

[suanna]

Go for it! One year is just about right to get you basic skills down. Be aware however that open heart experience may not give you as much of an edge as you would like. I've worked open heart recovery 20+ years and the knowledge base for CABG patients is pretty narrow compaired to say-medical ICU. I know a lot of information about a few things but CCRN covers areas I rarely touch in my practice.

[nurselizk]

I know they take new grads in critical care because I did it 2 years ago, but they might have concerns about going straight from long-term care to critical care. That's why I asked. I think anyone who has the dermination to make it in critical care should go for it.

[daitheflu]

i took it with 1.5 years experience and it was a breeze. go for it.

i used primarily used this DVD by Laura Gasparis to study for the exam:

https://www.greatnurses.com/exp/inde...m/ccrn_review/

it is $150 but worth every penny. sometimes a unit in your hospital may have it and you can check it out.

[mummer43]

My supervisor told me I need two years experience to take the exam. I just looked at the AACN site and it just says 1750 hours within the last 2 years. Does anyone know if it really is 2 years???

[nurselizk]

Mummer, it's 1750 hrs of patient care. That usually takes almost a year, but the only requirement is 1750 hrs of patient care, not a certain length of time.