Anyone currently studying for the CEN exam??

deeDawntee, RN · Feb 16, 2008

Ok guys! My boss wants me to commit by Monday to take the exam by June 30. If I do that, it will be paid for by a special education grant. The hospital will still reimburse me if I don't gt it done in time, but it comes from a different budget. I didn't mention the incentive in my earlier post, but we do get $1 more per hour for certification. I'm not 100% sure I'll be ready, but I'm going to research the cost of study materials in more detail this weekend and I think I may go for it!
I spoke with a co-worker who just re-certified and she said she used the ENA review book and the Mosby review book. She felt they were both good and they both come with CD-ROMS with practice tests.

Wow!! That is really great! There is no doubt you could do it by then!! There are many of us who are looking at that time frame to do the exam!! I sent for the ENA's review book, but have yet to receive it! I'm glad the word out there is that it is a good one!! I'll join you and commit to doing the exam by June 30th, it that's what you decide!! Why not, it is something to shoot for and certainly a worthwhile endeavor.

deeDawntee, RN · Feb 16, 2008

Sounds like we have a lot of review sites & materials to choose from. My problem is I get overwhelmed when I have too many choices! Even in a restaurant, I can't stand it when I get a menu that's pages and pages and pages! Just give me a few things to choose from, please!
Anyway, I am PRN and we get NO incentive to get our CEN, other than "personal satisfaction". Ok fine. My hospital offers full time employees reimbursement for the test fee, but not for me. But even so, I am so happy with the flexibility of PRN, working only when I want, picking up 1/2 shifts or 3/4 shifts whenever I want to, that I wouldn't trade it for a full-time position anyway.
CENs at my hospital are fairly rare I think. Maybe 10% of our ER nurses? I'm just guessing, it might be even lower, but not common, I know that.
VS

I TOTALLY understand the way you feel about too many options! So far that ENA review book keeps showing up as a good option. The Mosby, as well, but I haven't been able to find it. No doubt any review course will give you what you need. It is nice though to get lots of opinions of those who have been there and go with the most beneficial. I am not going to get everthing that is recommended...because I know myself and I would go from one to another and get myself lost! hehe

olddog1 · Feb 16, 2008

Congrats to all even thinking of taking the CEN. Even if it's only for "personal satisfaction" sometimes that's all you get in this profession. I took a review course offered by ENA and don't think I would have done so well without it. It really helped to focus where my knowledge deficits were. There are so many areas that ED nurses need to be proficient in, it helped me to have someone say, focus on this. Good luck to all.

deeDawntee, RN · Feb 17, 2008

Congrats to all even thinking of taking the CEN. Even if it's only for "personal satisfaction" sometimes that's all you get in this profession. I took a review course offered by ENA and don't think I would have done so well without it. It really helped to focus where my knowledge deficits were. There are so many areas that ED nurses need to be proficient in, it helped me to have someone say, focus on this. Good luck to all.

Thanks for the advice!! How long ago did you get your certification? You are right about there being so many more areas in the ED that needs some knowledge and competence, certainly more than the ICU, even if there is some overlap. Please hang out with us on this thread if you want, your advice and encouragement would be very much appreciated and welcome!!

deeDawntee, RN · Feb 17, 2008

I would love to get to know a little more about each of you who are going to be an ongoing part of this support group. What kind of an ER, how large of a hospital, is a teaching hospital, how long have you been a nurse, what shift do you work....anything else would be welcome... Even if you have already accomplished the CEN and would like to be part of the ongoing conversation, that would be soooo awesome...

I will write a little about myself, but just got home from my 12 hour night shift, so the bed is calling my name!!! see you all on the flip side!!!

amberfnp · Feb 17, 2008

About me...

I have been an RN for 6 years. I have worked FT in a plastic surgery ambulatory surgery center/private practice since then. I actually started there as a medical assistant 11 years ago. RNs there work in the OR, Pre-op, PACU and office settings.

I started in the ED PRN 5.5 years ago only 5 months out of nursing school. We are a 22 bed ED in a small hospital (210 beds I think). We have 6 monitored beds, 9 regular beds and 7 fast-track beds, and of course hallway beds prn. We are not a trauma level ED. The other 2 hospitals near us are quite large in comparison with their ED's having 40+ beds. My favorite spot to work is triage!

I completed my RN-BSN in 12/05 and plan to start my FNP program this May, part-time, distance ed. I think I would like to practice in the ED but eventually I'd like to teach.

I am married to the best husband ever who is a paramedic/firefighter (whom I am trying to convince to go to nursing school). We have a 9 year old and are very newly pregnant! Can I possiby have any more going on??????

I want to do the CEN mostly for personal satisfaction and to learn more about the types of patients we don't normally see. But another $1 is good too!

Ok, who's next?

ERERER · Feb 17, 2008

30+ years as RN, 20+ in all kinds of ER's..... used to be CEN, but unfortunately let it expire, so have to retest. Have heard that they changed the content last summer, anyone noticed??? also, wonder why Laura G-VonFrolio has not updated her tapes, i really enjoy her but they are really old.

Has anyone else tried "http://www.mo-media.com/cen/" that a previous poster suggested? just wondering, never heard of it before....

guess i'll have to crack open the old books, learn the actual NAMES for what we see: LeFort fractures, etc. Hope to hear from those of you who have taken the test in the last couple of months as to whether or not they made it more real life

deeDawntee, RN · Feb 17, 2008

Thanks 92mxmom,

Wow, you are very busy!! Very impressive plans you have for yourself.

ok, as for myself...I have worked in an ED for 3 months, have not been trained to do trauma yet, but am in no hurry. Working in the ED has been a life-changing, mind-opening experience for me. It is a large county hospital where the unisured, homeless, poverty stricken etc come for their health care. I had never before worked with assault victims. I worked New Year's Eve and it was the bloodiest mess I have ever seen! (but cool, nevertheless, helping getting people stitched, cleaned up and then often sobered-up! WOW! The power of addiction is mind-boggling.) The hospital is also a teaching hospital, so there is a slew of residents around kind of bumping into each other and not really being able to write orders until running by somebody higher up the chain. This is also a new experience for me...baby docs before they become jerks!! After I become more adept in the ER setting, I would like to expand to other ER's in my area, perhaps as per diem, as I think smaller ER's, without the residents, are actually more challenging for the nurses. The CEN process is to help myself feel more confident and to actually perhaps read about stuff before I run into it at work. I have issues with insecurity, so anything I can do to help myself feel more secure is a very worthy process. Next month, I orient to the peds area of the ED and soon after to 'special care', then trauma, then triage....phew!!

OK...that is enough for now! Who's next!? ;)

deeDawntee, RN · Feb 18, 2008

30+ years as RN, 20+ in all kinds of ER's..... used to be CEN, but unfortunately let it expire, so have to retest. Have heard that they changed the content last summer, anyone noticed??? also, wonder why Laura G-VonFrolio has not updated her tapes, i really enjoy her but they are really old.
Has anyone else tried "http://www.mo-media.com/cen/" that a previous poster suggested? just wondering, never heard of it before....
guess i'll have to crack open the old books, learn the actual NAMES for what we see: LeFort fractures, etc. Hope to hear from those of you who have taken the test in the last couple of months as to whether or not they made it more real life

Hello ERERER!! LOVE your screen name....btw!! So they just changed the CEN?? Didn't know that. We should let Dr Laura know that there are many of us across the country looking for the new, updated course...

You say you have worked in all sorts of ER's. What type of ER do you think the nurse gets to do the most...and have the most fun...what are the advantages and disadvantages?? Would love to hear your opinion on that.

GilaRRT · Feb 18, 2008

Check out my prior posts. I included a link to the ENA website. The new changes are outlined in this area. It looks like you may encounter questions regarding invasive lines, right sided ECG's, invasive cardiac interventions, in addition to some other material.

amberfnp · Feb 18, 2008

Hey guys! Happy Monday.

I have just emailed with the person teacing an ENA CEN review class in our area in April. She recommended Lippincotts Q & A Certification Review and Emergency Nursing Secrets, in addition to the ENA review book. She also recommended Mosby, however all websites I have tried say it is unavailable.

She states "Gasparis is OLD". That's a shame as I had heard good things about her 'humor' and explaining things in a way that you remember, plus having CD's to listen to in the car was a plus. But, I don't want to spend $$ on outdated material.

I plan to start with Lippincott as a local store here has it. I'll get the ENA book in mid-March from the instructor prior to the review class, then maybe the 'Secrets' book depending on how I move through the 1st 2 and the review class.

Hope this helps!

Oh yeah! I am taking TNCC this week, 1st time! Wish me luck! I hear since I have my ENPC, TNCC shouldn't be too bad!

NativeSundance, LPN · Feb 19, 2008

I took and passed CEN last September. The test is challenging and has a high fail rate, but is IS worth the effort!

I bought Laura Vonfrolio's DVD's and also MedEd. I can honestly say that Dr. Laura's DVD's were very entertaining and interesting, but they are OUTDATED! Many things have changed in our happy world of nursing since those DVD's were made. Nonetheless, I did brush up on things I hadn't thought much about lately and it was helpful in my overall practice and probably helpful on the exam.

The MedEd CEN review was EXCELLENT and CURRENT. It has the most recent CEN changes and the speaker was informed and engaging. I bought the new CD ROM version and still use it to review things from time to time. They have a pass guarantee with a purchase of the program. Using this program, I got a score of 139 out of 150 questions. Missed 11 of them. 25 questions on the exam are trial questions and there is no way to distinguish them from the rest of the questions so you really have to give every question your best effort. 175 questions and 180 minutes to take the exam. Roughly 1 minute per question.

I also bought the newest version of the ENA Core Curriculum and leafed through it, but didn't embrace it totally. Bought the ENA CEN Review, which was a little dated, and used that heavily. Also went online to the ENA site and took their practice tests (175 questions each, I think) that were included in the cost of the review book. You get 3 tries with each of those two tests. All of it was just review and practice. Worked out well enough for me in the end though!

My hospital does not recognize CEN certification so for me it was a matter of doing it for the personal satisfaction of acheiving this goal. There was no pay raise involved nor was the cost of the review programs a covered expense. I spent roughly $1000.00 in study resources and exam fees to reach this goal and I do not regret it.

Good luck to all of you who are studying for this exam!!!