to be or not to be a CEN

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Mar 3, 2016

Certification without experience is meaningless in specialty areas. Certification implies experience and competency. How can you be competent in an area you have never practiced in?

nowwhat · Mar 3, 2016

you are right, thankyou. but i really would like to work in ER. Any tip on how to get a job in ER?

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2016

hi all,
I am an international nurse who wants to be an emergency room nurse.

Thread has been moved to our Emergency Nursing forum to attract more replies. Good luck with your journey to becoming an ER nurse.

amzyRN · Mar 6, 2016

I would try to get a job in at a hospital in a specialty you are competent in and try to transfer as an internal candidate or apply to a place that takes RNs who are new to ER, usually places that need nurses in general. Any hospital that hires new grads in the ER is a place that you'd have an advantage at having some nursing experience. I'd also get required certs, ACLS, PALS, possibly TNCC and/or others. I'm assuming you are in the US now, so those certs would be relevant here. Start applying and see what you get. Be assertive with your applications, I mean sometimes calling the manager will help get you an interview. It has helped me in the past.

nowwhat · Mar 7, 2016

Thankyou very much. God bless

Ryan RN · Mar 7, 2016

if you can pass the CEN exam even without the years in the ER, you get my respect

its a test that cannot be passed simply by being in the ER for 50 years. it shows that you have the knowledge. Lets be real, certain topics on that test you will most likely never see in your practice, depending on where you live (snake bites in suburban hospitals)

nowwhat · Mar 7, 2016

Thankyou very much for the reply.. I did hear that it is a very tough exam... From what i hear it sounds like one needs to have through knowledge and hands on experience in ER..

Editorial Team / Moderator · Mar 7, 2016

Lets be real, certain topics on that test you will most likely never see in your practice, depending on where you live (snake bites in suburban hospitals)

My first week as a new grad RN I had a patient with a copperhead bite, this was in a freestanding ER in the DC suburbs. Lol.

MursingMedic, DNP, RN, EMT-P · Mar 12, 2016

The Neuro Rehab experience will not benefit unless you're really good at selling yourself. The dialysis time may help more since you have to be more prepared for unforeseen circumstances and you operate with more flexibility with protocols working with renal patients.

I agree with the previous poster, get in to a hospital you want to be at on a medical floor, do a year or two and try to transition down to the ED. Either that or find an ED that has a robust residency program that would take you on.

As for the CEN, when I took it, it was a requirement that you have at least 2 years of ER experience before testing. I don't remember if they asked for proof or not. Please don't mistake the CEN for something like ACLS or PALS. It isn't a certification in that regard, but an actual specialty certification. Most places do pay a small differential for it ($1/hr is common) but that shouldn't be a driving factor in this discussion.

Good luck!

Editorial Team / Moderator · Mar 12, 2016

As for the CEN, when I took it, it was a requirement that you have at least 2 years of ER experience before testing.

This is a very common misconception. Two years of experience is recommended, but not required. I took my CEN in 2009. As far as I know, that has always been the requirement.