Ccrn?

The CCRN certification simply stands for Critical Care RN. It is an examination that one must apply for and receive permission to take after completing a certain amount of time caring for patients in the critical care environment (about one year). The application can be obtained from several sources. Once it is completed and mailed the process for approval can take several weeks. At the point that the approval is made an appointment can be made to take the exam. It is a pass/fail exam with results rendered immediately after the examination.

Hope this helps.

It is obtained through AACN - American Association of Critical Care Nurses. Go to their website, and you wil find a plethora of information on the exam and other certification exams like it. Good luck!

CHeck out

http://www.certcorp.org/certcorp/certcorp.nsf/certcorp/CCRN

The AACN states that :

Critical care practice as a registered nurse is required for 1,750 hours in direct bedside care of (adult, neonatal or pediatric) acutely or critically ill patients during the 2-year period preceding date of application, with 875 of those hours accrued in the most recent year preceding application. Clinical practice hours accrued in an undergraduate student role are NOT acceptable.

However, they dont actually check. I took the exam 4 months out of school with 2 others. We all passed.

Mike,

How did you prepare for the CCRN exam? I just received my permission to take the exam and am scheduled for June 29th. I have a few books I have been studying but I am getting nervous. Thanks for your help.

Angela

Hey als!

Thats an excellent, but very hard question to answer. We prepared by buying a prep book (Pass CCRN is the best one now in my opinion). And did not do any groups or prep classes or videos. However, it all depends on how you learn what is best for you.

I have found with these cert exams, and ive done 4 of them now, its all about repetitive practice. Do those questions Over and Over and Over again.

My study plan was to do one manageable section of questions at a time. I would then go back and correct/review what i got wrong. Id move onto the next section. when i was done that "chapter or topic" id go back and do it all again. Surprisingly, id stillg et questions wrong!! However, it taught me alot.

If you are not a good self starter or have difficulty self motivating, i think videos and prep classes are great. I only find them distracting. End up talking to people and not doing what i should be. But they may well be for you.

So, i ended up letting my CCRN lapse (yes i know stupid) and im taking it again here shortly. Ill be studying for about 2 weeks living that Pass CCRN book.

Good luck!

Mike,

How did you prepare for the CCRN exam? I just received my permission to take the exam and am scheduled for June 29th. I have a few books I have been studying but I am getting nervous. Thanks for your help.

Angela

I have found with these cert exams, and ive done 4 of them now, its all about repetitive practice. Do those questions Over and Over and Over again.

My study plan was to do one manageable section of questions at a time. I would then go back and correct/review what i got wrong. Id move onto the next section. when i was done that "chapter or topic" id go back and do it all again. Surprisingly, id stillg et questions wrong!! However, it taught me alot.

That was basically the way i did it too, I also used Pass CCRN, but only the cd, I did not like the outline format at all, so I didnt crack the book except to get the cd out. The cd is nice since it keeps track of your scores on the test, so you can see if you are improving or not and in which sections.

I'm also studying for CCRN (to be taken at the end of summer)! Personally, I find the Pass CCRN book to be pretty dense in terms of its information but good for making me aware of things I probably don't know enough about and should look up.

I highly recommend that anyone studying for the exam buy the AACN's Essentials of Critical Care Nursing (published brand spanking new this year) - this is an excellent book that should be used as a text for critical care courses (wish I'd had it when taking mine!) in my opinion. It will also alert you to areas you need to study further. The book has chapters about basic pathophysiological considerations for all systems, advanced concepts for EKG, VC, resp and neuro, plus chapters like assessment, vent management, and ethical and legal considerations, AND good chapters on hemodynamics and pharmacology.

The AACN has 2 question/answer books available, one short book of about 200 questions containing only correct answers and one containing three 200-question 'exams' with correct and incorrect answers/rationales. Laura Gasparas also has the Critical Care Certification Review with about 800 system-wise questions with correct and incorrect answers/rationales. (the aacn books can be ordered on the website, the laura gasparas book can be ordered on www.greatnurses.com)

There are also two review sessions coming up soon (one in august in Las vegas I think, and one in sept. in Atlantic City) that are incorporated into three day long conferences. The drawback is that they're not cheap...$375 for the three conference days plus the cost of hotel (110-140/night depending on the location/session).

I'm terrified about the exam though I've had friends who took it and thought the actual exam was easier than many of the practice questions and scored higher than they thought they would...anyone else have thoughts on this?

I took the test 5 years ago and used the AACN practice question CD as well as taking a review course. I had several CCRN books including PASS CCRN but found most of them to be too comprehensive. The review course was extremely helpful in that it narrowed down what you actually needed to know. The one I used was Med Ed. It was guarranteed you would pass or your money back or you could retake the course. Mike was right when he said practice the questions over and over again since this also helped alot. Good luck on your test it is well worth it. I learned a tremendous amount just by studying for it.