C-EFM Exam Prep Question

Wait wait wait a minute. No. EFM certification means you are an EXPERT at fetal monitoring and inpatient OB management. It is not meant for someone who is new to OB. The exam is HARD. 

Are you very certain that the requirement is not completion of the AWHONN fetal monitoring course? That is what is typically required of all OB nurses within a certain amount of time after starting in OB. 

Who the hell is telling you that EFM subspecialty certification is required when you START OUT in OB, and can I please have a chat with them? Seriously. That's ***ED up. 

Yes, sorry forgot to add - I am a seasoned RN but new clinic OB/GYN ARNP. 

What is an OB/Gyn ARNP? Are you in the US? Because in the US there are CNMs and WHNPs. 

Why would you need EFM knowledge as an WHNP, unless it's for NSTs in the clinic setting?

Yes I am. Because I will be seeing OB follow ups and it is better to be prepared than not? It is a requirement of my institution. 

So you're an WHNP?

Did you look at the candidate exam booklet? I believe it lists suggested resources for preparation.

My recommendation for someone who has no inpatient OB experience would be to take the AWHONN "Introduction to Feral Monitoring" and then "Advanced Fetal Monitoring" courses, in that order.

I would also get Mosby's Pocket Guide to Fetal Monitoring by Lisa Miller, et al, and read that cover to cover.

Good luck!

klone said:

Wait wait wait a minute. No. EFM certification means you are an EXPERT at fetal monitoring and inpatient OB management. It is not meant for someone who is new to OB. The exam is HARD. 

Are you very certain that the requirement is not completion of the AWHONN fetal monitoring course? That is what is typically required of all OB nurses within a certain amount of time after starting in OB. 

Who the hell is telling you that EFM subspecialty certification is required when you START OUT in OB, and can I please have a chat with them? Seriously. That's ***ED up. 

I agree. That situation is quite odd! 

Klone, I love this reply! I've been following your posts since before I ever started in OB...as a nursing student, really. Your posts are always helpful and I appreciate the honesty.

I second the Mosby's Pocket Guide to Fetal Monitoring. It's good stuff. That's what I used to study for C-EFM. 

@Tracy Windy Apologies, I posted my response to you on the other thread that you added to.  Agree with klone, you generally only need basic and intermediate AWOHNN EFM certification to start as a CNM/WHNP.  You do need at least intermediate AWOHNN EFM certification in order to call categories in IP though not every IP provider does this.  There is also advanced EFM through AWOHNN if you want to dive into detail and the nitty gritty of EFM. 

If you are only in clinic, I would also ask why you would need the C-EFM certification through the NCC since you aren't actively monitoring patients who are in labor and just starting out? 

Could your institution be asking you to only complete the AWOHNN basic and intermediate EFM certification and not the C-EFM through NCC?

Thanks for the advice. To clarify, yes I am taking a job at an academic hospital as an OB/GYN ARNP and they require the NCC EFM certification for all providers and residents (MDs in training). They do not require this of their nurses, only providers. I will be training for the next year but it is still required of me before I start.

Tracy Windy said:

Thanks for the advice. To clarify, yes I am taking a job at an academic hospital as an OB/GYN ARNP and they require the NCC EFM certification for all providers and residents (MDs in training). They do not require this of their nurses, only providers. I will be training for the next year but it is still required of me before I start.

Yikes, then I wish you the best of luck with your studying.  Obtaining C-EFM without any OB experience as a new APRN reading EFM strips on the floor by your academic teaching hospital seems....harsh.  This is why you usually start off on the floor and obtain your basic and then your intermediate AWHONN EFM certification while simultaneously getting experience by reading strips on the floor of the patients that you are managing.  C-EFM comes much later if you choose to go through certification once you have gained sufficient experience and usually after you also completed and passed the Advanced AWOHNN EFM certification.

Perhaps you can talk to them about this requirement or changing the requirement for future providers who are new to practice and give a 1 year grace period?  Like klone said, the C-EFM is a very difficult test and it is to demonstrate that you are an expert in EFM.  If I remember correctly it is 125 questions and 2 hours long that delves into a lot of the nuance of EFM.

I would suggest that you look as many strips as possible and ask questions of your more experienced providers.  I agree that Mosby's is great and as I suggested on the other post, the EFM Guide app if you are on the Apple ecosystem.  Try and complete the basic/intermediate/advanced AWOHNN EFM certification if you can prior to taking the C-EFM.  Intermediate and Advanced are in person/blended classes which will give you the opportunity to ask questions.  Basic is an online course only.

Good luck!

Update- I took exam and passed last week! Posting my prep in case it will be helpful for anyone else: I used Mosbys, C-EFM prep by examprepconnect (with lots of online prep questions to do) and purchased an online 3.5 hour prep video course that I watched a couple days before exam by Nurse Builders to make sure I knew the content. I studied for 2-3 weeks, usually for 1 hour per day and more on weekends, especially towards the last week. I also used NCC free online EFM strip game online to make sure I could ready them fairly well. NCC also has a paid EFM pre exam question bank that you could consider taking, though I did not do this as I ran out of time and didn't want to psyche myself out. I came in with zero OB experience. If you find yourself in a position like me, you got this!

Congrats!