Anyone currently studying for the CEN exam??

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Hi!!

Is there anyone else out there who is currently studying or is planning to take the CEN certification exam sometime in the next 6 months or so who would like to start a thread as a study and support group?

Personally, I have just started this process and would really like to have a support system through Allnurses.

Thanks very much!! Hope to hear from you soon!!

Specializes in Travel Nursing, ICU, tele, etc.

thank you nativesundance!!

for all of the great information!!! i sooooo appreciate all the recommendation on study material. it is very disappointing about dr laura's outdated course....i wonder if she even does a live version of the cen review anymore. i would bet not.

it is very commendable that you went ahead and achieved your cen without any reimbursement or other bonuses involved. now that is commitment to your profession.

please hang out on this thread, if you want to, and offer us guidance and support as we go along!!

;););)

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Specializes in Travel Nursing, ICU, tele, etc.

Has anyone else had difficulty with the ENA website? I am trying to order that review book and it is a lot cheaper if you are a member of ENA (which I just joined) but am getting frustrated and am losing some of my drive to get that certification.

Help!! I need to stay motivated.

I am listening to the Dr Laura Gasparis Vonfrolio DVD on the CEN and a lot of it seems pertinent, such as DKA and HHNK, heart issues, etc....

Still am only on the first DVD.....

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Specializes in Plastic Surgery, ER.

I am going to sign up for an CEN review course that includes the ENA book. The instructor was going to order them at the ENA thing in HI last weekend to save the class on shipping costs.

So...sorry, I have no idea what's going on the ENA site in regards to ordering.

I have just gotten through Ch 2 in the Lippincott Q & A review. Not so bad so far...I really need to learn the lab value stuff though. The book comes with a CD so I have it loaded at work so I can study on breaks. Just finished TNCC and have PALS this weekend so, after that, let the studying commence!

Don't lose your motivation! There are plenty of other books you can use in the mean time until you can get the ENA one.

Did you find the Gasparis set new or used? I've been looking for a used one by watching ebay and Amazon. Since it is supposedly outdated, I didn't want to pay full price but I'm sure I can benefit from a lot of what is on there.

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Specializes in Travel Nursing, ICU, tele, etc.

Thanks for the encouragemt 92mxmom!! It has been difficult getting motivated lately, but will keep slogging through until inspiration finds me again! I am from Minnesota and this last long month of winter really starts getting to me sometimes!!

How do you think we could best use this thread to support each other? Maybe check in a couple times a week with updates on how the studying is going?? I don't know, what do you think?

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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!!!

Thanks for this information! I've been using the ENA core curriculum, but as it is in outline form its a little hard to get "into" Will be getting the ENA book, apparently there is some problem there, and will also be ordering MedEd stuff, since you recommended it, I was wondering aboutit before....

Hopefully will test in the next three months.

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Specializes in Plastic Surgery, ER.

So what's everyone been up to? No replies to this thread in a while.

I have worked through Lippincotts book and I am currently reading Emergency Nursing Secrets. It's not advertised as a CEN review but I really like the way it is set up. As I stated before, it was recommended by a nurse who teaches a CEN review class.

Speaking of the class, I am going to one this weekend. I'll let yall know how it goes.

Someone gave me a copy of Laura's CD's. A lot of good info but I can see where some may be outdated. And considering I have no trauma experience...I'm concerned that a lot of what I am hearing for the 1st time may not be correct. But I do like the way she explains the patho in a simplified, easy to understand way!

Got the ENA review book but haven't cracked it yet!

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Waiting to get to my new travel assignment to order the Med-Ed disks, will be listening to them in the car to and from work...

92mxmom, if you have no trauma experience, I highly recommend getting the TNCC book and goinig through it, it will get you through I imagine most questions about managing trauma on the CEN... (COurse what do I know, I will test ether on this assignment or the next depending on how my study goes. Lucky you, living near where there s a class!

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Specializes in Travel Nursing, ICU, tele, etc.

Hey Katiebell,

Thanks for reviving the thread. I have been at a standstill, except for reviewing Dr Laura's DVD's as I have been waiting for the ENA site to get through their difficulties. I am about to order some study materials and I thank you for your recommendations. Oh, I just looked and it appears that the ENA 'marketplace' is up and running again. I will be taking TNCC for the first time this month.

I have a question, did or do any of you have a "lab day" through your facility where you work on live animals? (The residents do this and basically we are there to learn as observers.) Apparently, it all about cardiac arrest where of course the sheep ultimately die. The nurses also have the chance to work on rabbits, starting IV's in their ears etc. When I expressed the fact that I can't imagine myself watching or doing any of those things, I was met with downright hostility at times. Everyone says how much they learned....etc. I think those images would haunt me for life. Any input?

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Specializes in Plastic Surgery, ER.

Thanks Katiebell. I just took TNCC in Feb, ENPC last year so I'm feeling a little better but there is still so much that we just don't do in our ED!

On my way out the door to class!

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Specializes in Travel Nursing, ICU, tele, etc.

THanks 92mxmom for revivng the thread, I just ordered a TNCC book through Amazon and Lipincotts review book. Thanks for reinspiring me!

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Never had a skills day with sheep or rabbits. We have started IO catheters on Chicken bones, not live chickens.

Seems to me if a nurse is unable to start an IV, then they might need to go spend a day putting them in at day surgery, rather than putting them into rabbit ears. Eeek.

Our residents dont do this either.

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Specializes in Plastic Surgery, ER.

Well I just took the CEN review course this weekend! Talk about information overload! But the instructors have been doing this course for several years and they claim a ??93% or 97% pass rate (can't remember which).

It was a lot of good review! Now I just need to keep reviewing it! They did reiterate the importance of knowing normal lab values, rhythms/blocks, ABG's.

I have gotten a copy of the Laura CD's and have listened though them once. Some of it is outdated but the A&P review is good.

Another good book I have seen and would like to get is Emergency Medicine Blueprints. Good for us skimmers who don't like to do a lot of reading!

Keep on studying guys!

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