Anyone else studying for CCRN exam?

Specialties CCU

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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

Thank deedawntee! I am almost done with the Laura Gasparis Review book questionnaire. I'm gonna be starting PASS CCRN cd tomorrow... :)

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Specializes in Anesthesia, CTICU.
To those that recently took the CCRN - any tips, stuff to focus on etc especially in the cardiac/pulmonary section? Heard something about correlating lab values with EKG rhythms for a specific disease. I was hoping to get some more tips as to what I should be focusing on.

Thanks!

My exam is in four weeks. Im nervous already.

Definitely know your swan and abg values... ie, what s/sx and swan changes are indicative of tamponade, hypovolemia, etc...

Laura's dvds were good... a handful of q's directly from there.

The Dennison book is a terrific resource, but honestly, for this exam, the q's on the cd are totally overkill... did about 50 questions in group setting (including physicians) and we sometimes found ourselves scratching our heads lol... the exam was no where near as difficult as the dennison cd... ccrn q's were straightforward and not so convoluted with tricks and trap doors.

Best of Luck!

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i just recieved my authorization to write pass yesterday. i have scheduled to write the exam on 17 july at 1300. i am already nervous. iam just going thru Lara's review bk questions once more on Cardio system. i hope to be done by the wkend. then plan to attack the review dvd"s. then start the reviw questions only for the last 2ks prior 2the exam. I took some days off btwn now and the 7 july ihope do do as much as i can. will keep u guys posted:bowingpur

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Specializes in critical care: trauma/oncology/burns.

I do agree with Billythekid (about the actual CCRN exam not being near as tough as the Dennison CD) I paid a lot of attention to the rationale as to why that particular answer was a better choice then one that I had picked

Also look over direct measurement values for different "shock" groupings: CI, CO, CVP, PCWP and how septic shock, cardiogenic shock etc would affect them. When I took the test in March of this year, had alot of questions on the above.

I also had 2 questions on a patient with burns and body surface area burned

a few on murmurs (thank you Dr Laura!) and a few on ARDS (that I remember)

I am not a good test taker. I tend to read into a question way too much....Doing the PASS CCRN CD helped me with that bad habit! Plus the scores I got doing the practice CCRN exam (from the CD) were a very good approximation of how well I did on the actual exam.

Remember that the actual CCRN exam tests your "book knowledge" over your bedside or clinical experience.

I used the Robin Dennison PASS CCRN CD, Dr Laura Gasparis Vonfrolio CCRN Review Cram DVD's and I had gotten the NTI 2007 audio tapes. I listened to those tapes all the time plus read articles and CEU's from the aacn.org site.

Good Luck. Do Not Fear the CCRN Exam....

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anyone willing to burn a copy of the PASS CCRN CD QUESTIONS BY R. DENNISON and sell or lend it to me pretty pliz..........? a core worker had promised me but now she can not find it. I am stuck:cry: as i was relying on her copy. i have 3wks b4 the big day

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omg! the Pass CCRN questions are really hard... scares me now. I've done three sets of the 150, and i've only gotten 53-70% of the questions right!!! :(

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Specializes in ICU-my whole life!!.

I agree with Athena55. Seems like they changed the test a bit, but it is doable. Face that monster and stare right into its eyes. Besides Laura's cd's, get the 2008 CCRN review disk. Lots of questions came from there verbatim when I took it.

Good luck and study hard. You will be fine.

All the best,

Rob

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I agree with Athena55. Seems like they changed the test a bit, but it is doable. Face that monster and stare right into its eyes. Besides Laura's cd's, get the 2008 CCRN review disk. Lots of questions came from there verbatim when I took it.

Good luck and study hard. You will be fine.

All the best,

Rob

thanks for your msg.. but what is the 2008 CCRN review disk? Is that the PASS CCRN one?

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yes Redicedtea the Pass CCRN CD is the one i am looking for . anyone willing to help. my exam is scheduled 17 july and i an panicking

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This is off Dennison CD 3rd edition.. and help me analyze it.

Activity instructions for a patient who experiences episodes of angina would NOT include which of the following points.

a. use antianginal medication if required

b. do isometric exercise rather than isotonic exercise

c. avoid exercise after having a large meal

d. do no exercise in temperature extremes

My answer: B

Correct answer: C

Dennison rationale: The five E's which are common causes of angina pain are exercise, exertion, emotion, exposure, eating. So eliminate options C and D, which are appropriate guidelines. Patients also should be encouraged to keep NTG available during exercise to use if chest pain does occur. Isometric exericises, such as weight lifting, cause valsalva maneuver and should be avoided.

Dennison Strategy: Remember that this is a negatively stated question. The best approach to the question is a true-false approach for each answer. Options A, C and D are true, and that should be included in patient instruction. Option B is incorrect because these patients should avoid isometrics.

My take: This is totally confusing me. The question is "not included in the activity instruction". The rationale even said AVOID ISOMETRICS. Then why is C the answer.. i dont get it.

Help me make some sense out of this...

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Specializes in ICU, Research, Corrections.

Sometimes you will find mistakes by the publisher. I think this is one of them. On the Pass CCRN CD there was about 3 of them like that. Just ignore the question and press on.

Best of luck!

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Specializes in CTICU.
This is off Dennison CD 3rd edition.. and help me analyze it.

Activity instructions for a patient who experiences episodes of angina would NOT include which of the following points.

a. use antianginal medication if required

b. do isometric exercise rather than isotonic exercise

c. avoid exercise after having a large meal

d. do no exercise in temperature extremes

My answer: B

Correct answer: C

Dennison rationale: The five E's which are common causes of angina pain are exercise, exertion, emotion, exposure, eating. So eliminate options C and D, which are appropriate guidelines. Patients also should be encouraged to keep NTG available during exercise to use if chest pain does occur. Isometric exericises, such as weight lifting, cause valsalva maneuver and should be avoided.

Dennison Strategy: Remember that this is a negatively stated question. The best approach to the question is a true-false approach for each answer. Options A, C and D are true, and that should be included in patient instruction. Option B is incorrect because these patients should avoid isometrics.

My take: This is totally confusing me. The question is "not included in the activity instruction". The rationale even said AVOID ISOMETRICS. Then why is C the answer.. i dont get it.

Help me make some sense out of this...

As per the rationale, answer is B. Just a typo, probably.

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