CEN Exam

[RN-ArmyVet]

I've been an ER nurse for 2 years and was an Army Medic x 8 years (mostly field trauma). I am scheduled to take the CEN exam in t-minus one week. I took one review course last year and have been studying on and off since. I just took a second review course for the exam a few days ago and felt very comfortable with most of the material. I have also scored anywhere from 73-80% on the practice exams from PassCEN! and the CEN Review Manual from the ENA website. I also got a 76% on the practice exam from the BCEN itself (the 50 question).

I have reviewed the sections that are giving me the most difficulty, and noticed that the exams with a great deal of pediatric-focused respiratory questions are among my worst areas. When the adult/geriatric respiratory questions are the majority, I do very well. I also don't seem to be doing "too horrible" in one specific area, and the larger sections (cardiovascular, Neuro, Medical, Shock, and Respiratory) are often my best sections.

Has anyone recently taken the exam? What were your scores like on the practice tests? How do you feel the questions compare to the real exam, and do you have any tips?

Thanks in advance!

[LakeEmerald]

I took it 2 years ago and did well. I studied hard and heavy on all the major cricital care stuff, but there were just as many questions on splinting, STDs, rashes, and other minor care issues. The test encompasses everything, big and small about the ED. It's like a final exam for the emergency room. Since you have the majors down, just don't forget to look over the minor things, too, and you should do fine.

Also, there weren't a ton of questions on peds. There were a few questions on airway-related things: epiglotitis and asthma, I recall. I home studied for it with a CEN guide by Brorsen, which was good, but had some extraneous ICU cardiac related stuff that I ignored. I did great on the pretests, so if you are doing well on those, you are probably set.