CCRN Review

jadednurse · Sep 28, 2003

Try Ebay. Though I've never ordered anything from there personally, I always hear about people getting great deals on things there. Also, maybe someone here has a used set they would sell you, maybe you can post a thread asking if anyone wants to part w/ them?

Monica RN,BSN · Sep 28, 2003

Ebay is a great place to check for anything like that. Great books and items in all healthcare areas. Good Luck to you.

RNMBA · Sep 28, 2003

There is also an audio tape series that has basically the same information.

I listened to the audio series during workouts at the gym for two weeks leading up to the exam and watched the entire video tape series the day before the exam. That was all the preparation I did (besides the 3 years of critical care nursing).

Both the audio and video tapes are recorded from live seminars and the only thing you'll miss on the audio tapes is Laura drawing pictures on a board.

Ebay is a great place to look and there are probably people at your hospital who have tapes they wouldn't mind selling.

Laura does a good job prepping material for the CCRN exam. The tapes aren't meant to teach you anything except how to answer questions that will likely be on the test and Laura knows the test.

The exam is not as difficult as most people believe. It has a reputation for being extremely hard and that produces a lot of test anxiety.

If you can manage cardiovascular and pulmonary critical care patients then you shouldn't have any problems. Congratulations for stepping up to the plate.

ratchit · Sep 28, 2003

Thanks for everyone's ideas. I should have mentioned that I had checked Ebay and several medical textbook and nursing sites- no luck. I did find a lovely jade bracelet, though- have to stay away from Ebay as much as possible. :)

The ICU nurses at my hospital have been there forever and a day- they haven't taken the exam and don't want to. No one has the tapes, no one is interested in it. They "know all they need to" (rolling eyes.) Can you tell I am not planning on being there much longer?

If anyone is looking to get rid of their set, I'll happily take it off your hands for a small fee. Otherwise, I'll be investing more money on more letters after my name that get me no financial compensation- from my current employer anyway!

Sarah, RNBScN · Sep 29, 2003

Congrats...go for it...any educational notch in your belt is an investment.

Good luck,

Sarah

nowplayingEDRN · Oct 5, 2003

Originally posted by ratchit
Ok... So I am finally getting serious about sitting for my CCRN. I am interested in the Laura Gasparis Vonfrolio tapes but have a couple questions.

Has anyone used them? Liked them? Found them helpful?

I have found them for sale new for $150. Ouch! I want Ms. Gasparis to get her money, but that's a lot for 12 hours of VHS tapes. I never see them for sale used. Assuming it's legal to buy them used (seems like you can sell any other video), does anyone know where to buy them? Amazon and Barnes and Noble don't have them.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

I have used her tapes and I would say that even if you can not find them used, it would be well worth your money to invest in them. I of course benefit from seeing pictures to help reinforce info in my brain so the video was better than the audio for me, but then I am an abnormal sort of person......lol lol lol

sympathoadrenal · Oct 10, 2003

I agree. It is worth getting them.

I am a new grad and motivated to learn everything about critical care nursing. I found it's easy to study just by listening to the audiotapes while I'm driving my car to work. Maybe I'm weird and only one who does that in LA traffic. But hey, it works. (LOL)

glascow · Oct 10, 2003

Definitely worth the investment. I disagree with RNBA who said Laura didn't teach anything. I learned alot. I took the exam in 1994 and still have my tapes, about once a yr I pull them out and listen to them for a couple of weeks in my car. I'm actually doing that right now! I also checked out her videos from our hospital library and watched them, but I much rather listen to the tape. I also transcribed each tape and would read over the notes to study. In case you're wondering, yes, that took a long time!

Good luck on the exam.

New2CVICU · Oct 11, 2003

I found her website at http://www.greatnurses.com. Good luck!

Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2003

A friend of mine in RN school bought the audio tape set of Ms. Garparis-Vonfrolio's "CCRN Cram Review". I have never worked ICU, but I learned a lot from those tapes and really enjoyed them.

We listened to them together on our long commutes to clinicals.

I also listened to them on a Walkman while doing housework.

They helped me understand things better that every nurse should know.

WhyO · Oct 14, 2003

Could you ask your unit manager to order the tapes for anyone who may be interested in taking the tests now and for the future? Sounds like a great educational investment for the unit and consequently help with quality care... sounds like a great argument... hmmmm I think I am going to meet with my manager about that.... what a smart idea...

goes off to prepare her case for a few new ICU tapes...