I am a NICU rn with 17yrs exp in level 3 nursery. However, i now work full time for an agency. I would like to take the certification exam but i will have to do it on my own-what books do you recommend as study guides. Thanks for the info.

I found Core Curriculum for Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing by Jane Deacon & Patricia O'Neill (Editors) very helpful. It's in an outline format which gives nuts and bolts information which helps jog my memory. This keeps me from having to read lots of information to be able to review the most important aspects. A new edition was recently published and I love it too... I take it to work with me in my bag to have as a quick reference.

I also used Manual of Neonatal Care by John P. Cloherty, MD and Ann R. Stark, MD (Editors) which was published by Lippincott back in 1998. I don't believe there is a newer edition but I learned sooo much from it. A Neonatal Nurse Practitioner suggested it as a study reference when I was studying to take my RNC exam.

The makers of the Core Curriculum book also recently published a small book titled Core Review Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing by Robin L. Watson, et.al. Editor which I bought and keep at my bedside. Nearly every night I'll open it up and read a few of the questions and see how I do with my choice of answers, and then know if I need to review more of a certain condition or area of study. It would be a very good book to get because it's like the questions on the RNC exam.

I hope this helps.

Wishing you the best of luck on your exam!! I think you'll have no trouble... especially if you've been at a NICU bedside for 2-3 years or more. (By the way, I passed on the first try after studying for 6 months slowly and being at a Level III NICU bedside for just over 2 years.)

I encourage everyone to take the certification exam. It's not as scary as many of us think and it sure does help elevate ourselves in many ways. Anything to better ourselves can't be a bad thing, right?

Thanks for your suggestions re: study guides for certification. I have been working a lot lately-hopefully i will have some down time soon and i will get cracking on the books. I will let you know the outcome. I dont know if you are aware but you can take the certification test at the Sylvan learning center on a computer.