CEN 2016!

[Lev]

I created this thread to have an inclusive up to date CEN review thread for people planning to take the CEN in the next year. I have been in the ER for almost a year and I think that is enough time to start studying. I got some resources from my educator at work.

So far, the materials I have are the CEN review manual from the ENA which is basically practice tests and some stuff from Jeff Solheim's review which appears to be content in notes form. I also have a book called the Quick Reference to Critical Care which I have been using since I was a pretty new nurse. It has a lot of great information. I have also downloaded the most recent test blueprint.

Which materials did you use/are you using to study from? How important do you think it is to have the latest edition of study materials?

Thanks in advance!

[takingtoolong]

Currently scoring in the high 60s in the CEN practice tests from the ENA. How do these practice tests compare to the actual exam?

[Guest374845]

Currently scoring in the high 60s in the CEN practice tests from the ENA. How do these practice tests compare to the actual exam?

The CEN exam felt harder because the questions or answer choices were more vague at times compared to the practice tests, but I scored better on the exam than my practice average. So my n of 1 says you would probably pass if you took it tomorrow.

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

I was scoring high 60s-low 70s on the CEN practice tests (in the ENA book) and passed.

[rnemtff]

I noticed that the youtube videos by boswell are posted before the 2016 updates came out. Are they still applicable?

[Queenbeenurse]

Help! Taking CEN in exactly one week. I have one week left to cram. I have been using Lippincott's Q&A Certification Review: Emergency Nursing book and Sheeshy ED Manual - very boring and dry. But now I am starting to freak out. One year of ER exp, but no trauma. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Help! Taking CEN in exactly one week. I have one week left to cram. I have been using Lippincott's Q&A Certification Review: Emergency Nursing book and Sheeshy ED Manual - very boring and dry. But now I am starting to freak out. One year of ER exp, but no trauma. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Take the practice exam that you can purchase from BCEN. I recommend the 150-question one.

CEN Prep Exam – BCEN

[KjayS]

Just wanted to offer a word of encouragement for those embarking on professional growth through the CEN. Just DO IT!! I just took it and passed. I am a horrible test taker and I answered 133/150 correctly. I studied for 2 months (a couple of hours a day on my days off) and took a practice test daily for 1 week prior to the test and consistently scored between 74% and 78%. I anticipated the worst case scenario on the actual exam but surprisingly found the actual CEN to be MUCH, MUCH easier than the practice exams. The questions are straightforward. LEARN the pitfalls by taking the practice exams...A MUST! I used the ENA CEN practice tests, Pocket Prep app, Jeff Solheim's online CEN course, and Sheheey's Manual of Emergency Nursing. I am an ER charge nurse and have been an ER nurse for 20 years. I highly recommend taking a CEN review from a reputable company. I found the online review to be more helpful because I could listen to it over and over. I'm also very visual and the online pictures and power points were great. Good luck!

[harlrn]

Hi! I’ve just pass the NCLEX. I graduated in 2007 and got the license in the Philippines but worked in ER for 8 months only, since then I change career in marketing. Now that I’m already in the US and got the license, I’m planning to work in ED and would like to study for CEN test. Can I take the exam even without experience or the BCEN requires a number of hours of work in ED for me to qualify for the exam?

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

10 minutes ago, harlrn said:

Hi! I’ve just pass the NCLEX. I graduated in 2007 and got the license in the Philippines but worked in ER for 8 months only, since then I change career in marketing. Now that I’m already in the US and got the license, I’m planning to work in ED and would like to study for CEN test. Can I take the exam even without experience or the BCEN requires a number of hours of work in ED for me to qualify for the exam?

All the info you need is here: https://bcen.org/cen/eligibility/

[gansettgirlRN, BSN, RN]

Hi, i wanted to post since I couldn't find the advice I was looking for before I took CEN.

I bought the new (5th edition) CEN Manual from ENA and took all 7 practice tests (5 in the book and 2 with the online access code)

My scores were the following:

EXAM 1: 70%

EXAM 2: 71%

EXAM 3: 71%

EXAM 4: 76%

EXAM 5: 67%

EXAM 6 (online) 74.3%

EXAM 7 (online) 75%

this morning i passed CEN with 119 correct answers, needed 106 to pass. I didn't take any review courses, but did watch solheim and boswell youtube videos, and bought a 25 question quiz on the solheim app. and obviously i reviewed ALL the rationales in my ENA manual.

I only have 1 year level II ED experience, but before that did 2 years telemetry so I have had ACLS for 2 years now. Also took TNCC/PALS/NRP before taking this exam.