Anyone else studying for CCRN exam?

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  1. I have or would like to get my CCRN certification: (you may select more than one)

    • 851
      Yes
    • 17
      No
    • 365
      If yes: I get some kind of financial reward or incentive to achieve and maintain certification.
    • 331
      If yes: There is no financial reward or incentive at my institution for CCRN certification.
    • 360
      If yes: I have or can have CCRN on my name badge or there is other forms of acknowledgement.
    • 291
      If yes: I find the certification has empowered my practice and would encourage others to pursue it.
    • 13
      If yes: It really hasn't been worth the work and I would discourage others from pursuing it.
    • 5
      If no: I don't have the certification and feel no need or have had negative experiences.
    • 53
      If no: I would like to pursue it, but have had difficulty getting motivated.
    • 12
      I am undecided.

379 members have participated

Is there anyone else out there who is currently studying for the CCRN exam and would like to start a thread as perhaps a study and support group? I have just applied for the exam and have not yet set a date, but about in 3 months is when I will be taking it. I would love to be in communication with others in the same boat! I hope there is at least one other nurse out there! Thanks!

deeDawntee

Specializes in ER/ICU/PACU/ Nurse Anesthetist.

Just completed another practice exam, I got 112/150 or 74.6%!

I did a little better on cardiac this time. Here's my breakdown:

Cardio: 32 out of 47

Resp: 14 out of 26

GI: 5 out of 6

Neuro: 5 out of 5

Renal: 6 out of 8

Endocrine: 8 out of 9

Hematology/Immnunology: 7 out of 8

Multisystem: 10 out of 12

Professional caring & ethical practice: 25 out of 29

My plan is to continue reviewing cardiac and focus more on pulmonary :up:

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Specializes in Travel Nursing, ICU, tele, etc.
Just completed another practice exam, I got 112/150 or 74.6%!

I did a little better on cardiac this time. Here's my breakdown:

Cardio: 32 out of 47

Resp: 14 out of 26

GI: 5 out of 6

Neuro: 5 out of 5

Renal: 6 out of 8

Endocrine: 8 out of 9

Hematology/Immnunology: 7 out of 8

Multisystem: 10 out of 12

Professional caring & ethical practice: 25 out of 29

My plan is to continue reviewing cardiac and focus more on pulmonary :up:

Woooo Hooooo!!! Way to go, my friend.... you are ready any time. Isn't that a great feeling??? Very impressive!!

:yeah::yeah::yeah: rock on!

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Specializes in CVICU, PACU, OR.

I'm still alive. I'm watching the videos still and I need to start doing some practice tests. I set a date so that I would have some pressure to study. I just got accepted into a family nurse practitioner program for this summer (I thought I would start in the fall!) so I need to get this done before I start school!

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Hi all, I have been reading this thread on and off for the past few weeks and I promised myself that I would post after I took my CCRN exam (I don’t normally post on boards, so I was a little apprehensive…). I wanted to say thank you for being so candid in your comments and supportive or each other. All of your comments have been spot on about ways to study. I too used Pass CCRN by Dennison, as well as some hints from Critical Care Nursing Certification by Ahrens. Plus I had some VERY old Dr. Laura Gasparis Vonfrolio VHS tapes that I would watch at random times over the past few months. I had the Pass CCRN book for only a few weeks (purchased after a recommendation here) and for the past week I have done nothing but crazy amounts of practice tests and practice questions. My main focus was on the “big guns,” the cardiac, pulmonary, and multisystem sections. I used the website www.pacep.org to review Pulmonary Artery and Swan-Ganz. I also recertified in ACLS yesterday, which helped a bit with studying and confidence. The main thing I would recommend is doing the practice questions and several practice exams before taking the actual test. Today I found that I got approximately the same score on the real test as I was getting on my final few exams, and I passed!

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Specializes in Open Heart.
thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!

And welcome! You'll be taking the time around when I'm taking it

:welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome:

Hey, I know this is a little old, but I'd be interested in knowing how you prepared for the GRE. I am planning on taking it this summer and I am really going to need some help.

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Specializes in Open Heart.
Just completed another practice exam, I got 112/150 or 74.6%!

I did a little better on cardiac this time. Here's my breakdown:

Cardio: 32 out of 47

Resp: 14 out of 26

GI: 5 out of 6

Neuro: 5 out of 5

Renal: 6 out of 8

Endocrine: 8 out of 9

Hematology/Immnunology: 7 out of 8

Multisystem: 10 out of 12

Professional caring & ethical practice: 25 out of 29

My plan is to continue reviewing cardiac and focus more on pulmonary :up:

What practice exams are you using?

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Specializes in Open Heart.

Ok, I guess I'll throw my name into the mix. I am planning on taking the test at the end of the summer. I am taking an organic chemistry class at the beginning of the summer and I will need to devote a lot of time to that.

I work on an open heart unit and I am getting great experience with swans and all the hemodynamics, so I am hoping that I won't need to spend a whole lot of time on that stuff. I plan on using the Gesparis course as well as PASS CCRN and will supplement that with these sites:

http://www.chartingandassessment.com/CCRN/Main.htm

http://www.pacep.org

I am also going to try and squeeze in the GRE at some point in late summer or early fall.

Once I get the CCRN, I want to get the CMC and CSC, but I am not really sure which order I should take them in. I would imagine the CSC would come easier to me since I work with that population.

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I think that I am going to be taking the CCRN exam soon. :uhoh21: I am scoring around 73% on my practice tests from the pass ccrn cd & think that I will do ok on the actual exam but I am so worried that I may not pass.

I have heard that the actual exam questions are not in the same format as the pass ccrn questions. Does anyone know if this is actually true or false?

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Specializes in ER/ICU/PACU/ Nurse Anesthetist.
hi all, i have been reading this thread on and off for the past few weeks and i promised myself that i would post after i took my ccrn exam (i don't normally post on boards, so i was a little apprehensive...). i wanted to say thank you for being so candid in your comments and supportive or each other. all of your comments have been spot on about ways to study. i too used pass ccrn by dennison, as well as some hints from critical care nursing certification by ahrens. plus i had some very old dr. laura gasparis vonfrolio vhs tapes that i would watch at random times over the past few months. i had the pass ccrn book for only a few weeks (purchased after a recommendation here) and for the past week i have done nothing but crazy amounts of practice tests and practice questions. my main focus was on the "big guns," the cardiac, pulmonary, and multisystem sections. i used the website www.pacep.org to review pulmonary artery and swan-ganz. i also recertified in acls yesterday, which helped a bit with studying and confidence. the main thing i would recommend is doing the practice questions and several practice exams before taking the actual test. today i found that i got approximately the same score on the real test as i was getting on my final few exams, and i passed!

congratulations!!!!!!!!!!

:yeah::yeah::yeah:

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Specializes in ER/ICU/PACU/ Nurse Anesthetist.
What practice exams are you using?

PASS CCRN book by Robin Donohoe Dennison (It comes with a CD).

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Specializes in Open Heart.
PASS CCRN book by Robin Donohoe Dennison (It comes with a CD).

Thanks!

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Specializes in CVICU, PACU, OR.

Just took a practice test:

Cardio: 33/47

Pulm: 19/26

GI: 5/6

Neuro: 4/5

Renal: 7/8

Endocrine: 8/9

Heme: 8/8

Multisysyem: 11/12

Caring & Ethics: 25/29

120/150 = 80%

I still need to watch cardio, pulm, and multisystem on the DVDs. This is my best practice test yet! :up:

BTW: I floated to CICU the other night and had a patient on a rotorest bed for the first time. I volunteered to take it, crazy me. :bugeyes: It was cool! I also learned a bit about our ARDS protocol. Sometimes I actually enjoy floating.

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