Deciding to take the CCRN

[NICUNurseEliz]

Pardon me as I know the CCRN has been discussed here before but I didn't find anything recent or that answered my question. So here goes: :)

I have been a NICU nurse for a few years now and I have recently had a desire to increase my knowledge to be a better nurse for our little patients. :) I may eventually apply to be an NNP in the future but that's not in the cards for me at the moment. My preceptor when I started had taken her CCRN exam and raved about how much she learned (after she had worked there for about 20 years). I have owned Merenstein and Gardner's Handbook of Neonatal Intensive Care since I started and have read sections of it as needed. My former preceptor has since left the unit and no one is CCRN certified and there are no incentives to become certified from the company. Our educator knows nothing about the exam and has no advice. I recently purchased Core Curriculum and have been learning quite a bit from that.

So my question is whether or not it's worth it to seek the CCRN especially since I will be paying for all books and the exam registration myself? If it is, does anyone have any suggestions for a good review book? I have browsed for them before but some have mixed reviews and I want to know that I am getting a good book.

Thank you for any advice!

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

Hi there! This may be old news to you, but you could consider getting your RNC-NIC certification instead. In some NICUs it is more highly regarded than the CCRN (which probably depends on your unit/hospital/region). The initial cost is the same, but the RNC-NIC test is supposedly slightly easier, RNC-NIC recertification is much less expensive, and the recertification standards are much more reasonable.

It stinks that your employer won't give you a bonus/reimbursement for being certified! However, I admire that you care enough about your professional development to get certified anyway.

Best of luck to you!

[aerorunner80, ADN, BSN, MSN, APRN]

I decided to take the CCRN because it is more recognized when applying to grad schools. When I interviewed for CRNA school, the only major cert they knew if was CCRN.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

I actually got both but for very good reasons.

My employer will reimburse the cost of the RN-C test if you pass and give you a $500 bonus (minus taxes). I will also get bonus points on my evaluation for keeping the cert and another $500 every 3 years when I renew, essentially paying for those expensive CEs.

I had heard the RN-C and CCRN covered the same content and were pretty equivalent. At the time, I was going through RN to BSN classes and my college would give me 4 college credits (would count as a needed nursing elective) for taking the CCRN-NIC. So, even though I wouldn't be reimbursed for that test, it would be about $300 for 4 college credits which were running $375/credit hour plus books. Easy choice.

Only part that sucked was I couldn't convince the college to accept RN-C and couldn't convince employer to accept CCRN-NIC (they accept CCRN for adult ICU, but I wasn't winning that battle).

I planned to take them pretty close to each other since they are supposed to be on the same material. They were pretty equivalent, though I though the CCRN might have been a little harder.

I am keeping up my RN-C for my job because I got my BSN and they can't really take back my college credit.

I recommend the question and answer book of the core curriculum. I though reviewing those questions were an excellent preparation for the test. The rationales at the end of the book are like a study guide.

Hey, if your employer doesn't appreciate your CCRN, someone will someday!