CCRN Test

iLovemyJackRT · Feb 4, 2009

What materials did you use to prepare? And, how long did you prepare before you took the test? I'm sorry you didn't pass. Try not to get to down. RN's on my unit who've been icu nurses for 10+ years have failed.

Brooke

allnurses Guide · Feb 4, 2009

Did you check out the CCRN thread with tons of people who've taken it?

iLovemyJackRT · Feb 4, 2009

ghilbert, where is the CCRN thread?

inee · Feb 5, 2009

not to sound cocky or anything but the ccrn wasnt as hard as i thought it was. its DAMN HARD, but if you use the proper resources and review well, you shouldnt have a problem.

1. pass ccrn! cd questionnaire - harder than the actual ccrn exam, will blow your brains out.

2. laura gasparis vonfrolio ccrn exam cram dvds - worth every penny. will make you understand the material without having to ever read the aacn ccrn book.

you dont need anything else. no aacn book. no book--any book, period. just the dvds and practice cd. you need 88pts to pass (out of 125). i reviewed for one week straight cram and got 97 and im a one year (new grad) nurse.

not the best way to do it because you dont retain a lot of information but if you want to pass then this is the way.

allnurses Guide · Feb 5, 2009

https://allnurses.com/ccu-nursing-forum/anyone-else-studying-232666.html

Inee, the point is not "to pass". The test is to show what you know, having gained by learning and experience. If you learn it for the test and then don't retain it, what's the point of doing it at all? In theory, you should know most of it and do a "review" before the test to remind you of stuff.

I do agree that PassCCRN and Laura Gasparis was all I needed to pass very well.

inee · Feb 5, 2009

hey, im not about to go preaching and debating with you on the rights and wrongs and all that--im just helping those who want to pass, straight and simple.

now, with the gasparis DVDs and questionCD--that's not only going to make you pass, but make you LEARN as well--i mean, you dont just go through all that material and questioning without absorbing something. in fact, its going to make you LEARN enough to pass--which is the point--the point is to be familiar enough and knowledgeable enough to prove to an accrediting body that you know your critical care stuff; and you wear that badge with a CCRN title.

but to add on to what you said--and i agree with this--you need to review before you take the test. i thought i knew DKA and HNNK in and out before taking the test and then suddenly when an osmolality question came up, i bombed that question--i totally forgot what i learned.

so yeah, review all your material, and make sure you know ALL of it, not just "most" of it because the more you know, the more chances you have of passing. the test is so damn hard you do not want to give it any chance of failing you.

WalkieTalkie, RN · May 23, 2009

I just attended a 2-day CCRN review by Robin Donahoe Dennison. I was very impressed with her, and I learned a lot. I already have the Pass CCRN! book, but I'm looking to buy a used set of Vonfrolio's DVDs. Yes, I know they are hard to come by, but if by chance anyone is willing to share or sell theirs, please message me :bowingpur

kek5931 · May 23, 2009

I passed it yesterday, first try. I used the LGV cd's and PAss CCRN computer test questions. I did questions from another book as well, but I won't even mention the book because the computer program was so flawed. I would not have passed the exam without the cd's AND the Pass CCRN test questions. I did not read the core curriculum. I did not read the Pass CCRN book. I listened to the cd's in my car to and from work for 2 months, and did practice test after practice test with Pass CCRN on the computer. I have been in ICU for 10-ish years. If I did not understand a topic in one of the pass ccrn questions, I googled it for more information.

diosadelsol, ADN, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN, CRNA · May 24, 2009

I also passed using on the Pass CCRN book/CD and the LGV DVDs. But I went a little more in depth and read the chapters on Cardio and Pulmonary in the Pass CCRN book.

shocker29 · May 25, 2009

I feel like people really psych themselves out when it comes to the CCRN. It is hard, but remember... it is really critical thinking questions and this is knowledge we use all of the time in our daily jobs. Find a good way to understand the hemodynamics... such as PAOP and CVP are indicative of fluid... if your patient is overloaded, the CVP and PAOP will be elevated, volume depleted, they will be low. If your patient is tamponading, ABP is down, but hemodynamics are all elevated because there is increasing pressure in the chest. If your patient is in anaphylactic shock, they are dilated out, so everything is low. If your patient needs to compensate for a low BP, then the SVR will be increased in most cases. PASS CCRN has a great chart for these. Remember, you know most of this stuff already, or you wouldn't be a successful critical care nurse! The CCRN isn't about regurgitating facts, it is about taking the information they give you and using your critical thinking skills to answer the question... something we do constantly whenever we are on the unit!

genrn2008 · May 27, 2009

are we allowed to discuss specific questions that we remember from the test? if u have to retake the exam, will the second exam be the same as the first or will the questions be different?