Cardiac Surgery Certification as a prereq

Just an update. I took the CSC yesterday. Not too bad. It asks lots of hemodynamic questions related to patients emerging from anesthesia as well as weaning patients from the ventilator s/p cardiac surgery.

Hey Darian

I'm interested in earning the CCRN and the CSC. Could you tell me about your experience/time frame for earning the CSC? Someone had mentioned it in a recent thread. Also, do you think that the CCRN can be attained after 1 year of critical care? I work in a high-acuity heart hospital and received several internships (i.e. IABP's, lines, CV surgery/recovery).

I have worked in a very high acuity CV Recovery Room for almost four years. We take care of everything from AV grafts to total artificial hearts. I think CCRN can be obtained after one year. Give yourself two years if you started as a new grad. It isn't easy, but I would take it 15 times over the gre. I took the CCRN in May and just took the CSC yesterday. I signed up for the CSC the day I passed CCRN, and it took that long to register and take the exam. For the CSC, know every possible complication from each procedure from the blueprint, vent weaning, and the different presentations of emergence from anesthesia

Hey Darian

I'm interested in earning the CCRN and the CSC. Could you tell me about your experience/time frame for earning the CSC? Someone had mentioned it in a recent thread. Also, do you think that the CCRN can be attained after 1 year of critical care? I work in a high-acuity heart hospital and received several internships (i.e. IABP's, lines, CV surgery/recovery).

I don't have the CSC, but I scheduled the CCRN after my required 1750 hours of bedside nursing. I think that if you have been working in a open heart ICU you will have no problem with the test. It was nothing that you wouldn't have experience with in the unit.

I have taken the exam and passed. If you have been recovering hearts in the ICU for very long then it should not be anything you have not seen before. I would take the exam because the extra credentials never hurt anyone. Good Luck.

Tommyboyrn

How was the exam, just curious? Was it harder than the CCRN?

No. The CCRN tests general knowledge about ICU disease, practice and processes. The CSC is scenario based dealing with cardiac surgery such as: you have chest tube bleeding this amount for this hour what is the best course of action? sort of stuff.

If you have been dealing with cardiac surgery for a good period of time, you should not have any problems.

Tom

Not harder at all. Definitely focused on CV. You don't have all the nursing fluff in there, like you do for the CCRN. They figure you passed that already, so they want to know more technical stuff like Tommyboy mentioned.