what is ccrn exam?

diane227, LPN, RN · Oct 29, 2009

Critical Care Registered Nurse, certification for nurses who work in critical care. The exam is tough and you probably should not try to take it until you have had at least two years critical care experience in a busy ICU and you have studied for the exam.

Lacie, BSN, RN · Oct 29, 2009

It is a tough exam and they also require you have a certain amount of critical care hours under your belt before you can sit to take it. Try to move into ICU/CCU something in the meantime then give yourself plenty of study time with the Core. I took a brief prep class for the test and passed but I can tell you it was one of the hardest test I ever took. The CDN and CNN was easy compared to the CCRN. I took it soon as I hit the 2 year mark in ICU too bad it never got me more $ though lol.

SFRN · Oct 29, 2009

It's tough I just took it yesterday and PASSED! I was real happy. I suggest as previous posters have mentioned that you transfer to ICU if you plan on taking the exam. I work in a cardio-thoracic ICU so the cardiac part (Cardiac and Pulmonary) make up the most part of the exam...which was easier for me. Neuro was my weakest. Good Luck.

My_brain_hurts · Nov 3, 2009

You have to have something like 1750hrs of ICU experience to be eligible to take the CCRN exam. Check the website, I'm not for sure about the number of hours. But it is HOURS of beside care, not simply years worked in teh ICU. If you are applying to CRNA school you also MUST have at least 1 yr of ICU experience. It's the 'rules' that all accredited schools must abide by. They are allowed to decide what they consider ICU expderience, (Stepdown, ER, etc., besides "ICU" units) but you must have that minimum 1 yr experience by matriculation. I can tell you that med/surg will not be considered ICU experience. If you have ICU experience in the past, some schools say it must be within so many years (don't quote me, but they want to make sure you weren't in the ICU 20 yrs ago and haven't been back since) of application.

You need to work where you have experience with vents and vasoactive drips and sedative drips, etc., invasive monitoring, art lines, fun things like that :) Do you have a BSN? or an ASN with a related BS degree? you'll need that. Check out the AANA web site, and the web sites for specific schools you are interested in to see what you need to be a good candidate. Not all schools require the CCRN, though even if it's not required it's usualy "recommended". Good luck to you. Do some more research, online, shadowing CRNA, so you know how to plan. It's way more than just needing the CCRN.