Another CEN question

Specialties Emergency

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I had planned to take the CEN a number of times, but just could not get started. Now I have a chance to do so, and get it paid for. My director wants every nurse in our dept to be CEN certified. I looked on the ENA website, and saw that after July 2011 the test would be changed, and study guides would be revised. I do not have any study material, have not even started to prepare. My question...Do you think I will have enough time to prepare? I want to be sure I pass the first time! Also what study material have you all used, and thought was helpful?

A couple of the nurses along with our director are attending a two day prep course....then they are planning to teach the rest of us..... I am not so sure about that plan.:eek:

I don't think there will be enough books for all of us either...so I plan on getting my own. The two study guides I have looked at are the one from ENA (published 2009) and CEN review book & flashcards Mometrix Media, (published 2010, 2011). I am open to any, and all suggestions! Thanks ;)

Specializes in ER, Trauma, ICU/CCU/NICU, EMS, Transport.
Do the CEN Review 2 day courses come with a book?

amb_lyn:

Some do, some don't.

It depends on the particular class and the budget they are working with.

Contact the course presenter or business directly and they should be able to tell you.

Good question!

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Specializes in Emergency.

Hi :)

I took (and passed) the CEN for the first time last August. I prepared for the two weeks prior to taking the test by buying the "online" review from the ENA found here

I feel that it was just as (if not more effective) than buying the review book, and honestly, many of the questions on the actual test were variants of the questions in the review manual.

Good luck!

Michele

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Specializes in Emergency, Critical Care, Pre-Hospital,.

I concur with the take it now contingent. No one knows what the future iteration will be and it will take a little time to tweek the prep classes. I looked at the notes from a review class for a couple of weeks and passed with a great score on the first try (your results may vary). Our hospital library purchased the current review book when I requested the former book since it was so out of date (that was super nice of them!). The ENA book was a group of similar type questions, but the review outline made me jog previously known information.

Enjoy that you employer is supporting you in this fashion and tell them so!

Good luck!

jb

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Specializes in Trauma/ED.

I think experience helps more than studying or review courses but I like boswell's advice regarding the practice test to see what you're weak areas are and study a little on those.

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Specializes in ED, Neuro, Management, Clinical Educator.

I prepared for CEN by doing practice tests out of the ENA's book. I did about 5 of the tests. The rationales they provide for correct answers at the end of each test are very thorough and helpful. After those 5 practice tests I felt ready to go take the real thing. I actually got 4 questions on my "real" test that were, word for word, straight out of the practice test book.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma, ICU/CCU/NICU, EMS, Transport.
I prepared for CEN by doing practice tests out of the ENA's book. I did about 5 of the tests. The rationales they provide for correct answers at the end of each test are very thorough and helpful. After those 5 practice tests I felt ready to go take the real thing. I actually got 4 questions on my "real" test that were, word for word, straight out of the practice test book.

...you didn't say if you passed or not...?

Question: Did you use any of the 5 tests in the ENA book like the "real thing" In other words, did you sit down, set your watch for 3 hours and take one of the practice exams just like the real thing? And then did you score it using their answer key in the back of the book? If you answered "YES" so far, then tell me briefly how you used the content percentages to help you study.

I'm finding that with over 600 former students; I keep hearing how very few are actually using the practice tests as "practice tests". Most of them are just "doing questions" and are not aware that the tests are actually set up like a self assessment so you can see where you're at in each clinical category. It's when you look at your scores that you can then refine your studying from other sources then go back to the exam book and take another exam to see if your scores improve or not. Of all these students, a lot of them don't realize that it's spelled out for them in the first few pages of the book how to "use" the book.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma, ICU/CCU/NICU, EMS, Transport.
I prepared for CEN by doing practice tests out of the ENA's book. I did about 5 of the tests. The rationales they provide for correct answers at the end of each test are very thorough and helpful. After those 5 practice tests I felt ready to go take the real thing. I actually got 4 questions on my "real" test that were, word for word, straight out of the practice test book.

As I've had the feedback of LOTS of CEN exam takers, I've heard this before about a question being 'word-for-word' from the ENA book. Because of that I contacted the BCEN and brought this up in discussion with them. They specfically told me that this was not the case and that the database of questions for the exam is entirely separate and unique from the database for the ENA book.

So of course, I had to try to figure out why this was being observed by so many exam takers.

After doing many feedback/follow-up surveys of former students who have taken their exams I have found a couple of things...

1) As an exam taker, you remember the questions that you "typically" had to spend more than about 15-30 seconds thinking about. "Most' questions that you answer in less than 10 seconds do NOT get stored in your longer term memory and thus you forget that they were on the test.

2) When a student tells me, "Man, I had a LOT of _______ (OB, ABG, Trauma etc) questions on my test", it is actually a perception issue. Chances are (this is not scientific yet) the exam taker spent more time on the (OB, ABG, Trauma etc) questions for one of two reasons: either (1) they were higher level questions which required more cognitive processing (like analysis or synthesis level questions) or (2) they were less familiar with the content and had to spend more time considering the question.

As for myself, I have taken the exam multiple times and I do spend time trying to remember some of the questions from the exam. I will say I have seen the SAME question in different times I took it, but as of yet, I've not seen an exact exam question be replicated in the ENA book.

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I am in a similar situation. Did u receive any response regarding reference materials for the cen prep

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I'm an agency RN in the ICU and ED and interested in what the best resources are in reviewing for the CEN. Should I use an on line prep course or purchase a CEN review book?

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Specializes in Emergency.

I used lippincott. Absolutely do the ena 150 question online practice test. It's identical in format to the actual test. They use a weird gui, so it'll lower your stress during the actual test if you're already comfortable with the screen setup & feel.

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Specializes in ER, Trauma, ICU/CCU/NICU, EMS, Transport.

Two answers for you.....

The first is make sure you look at what each method offers.

Let me explain...

An online test should be used to assess your knowledge currently. You can use the score breakdown to identify your strong/weak areas and from there, you can make the most of your focused review on those areas you are weaker in. However, make SURE that the online test you take/use is one that is CEN-Like. The most reliable one is one of the ENA online exams because they mirror the actual real exam in the proportion of questions. Other products may not give you the same "spread" of questions.

Also I recommend the 150 question exam as it will give you a more valid score. There is a ENA 75 question version that is cheaper, BUT, with only half the number of questions, the score is not as valid as the 150 question version.

Books : it depends on your style of learning. There are many types of books out there. There are:

-outlines

-review notes

-discussion

-"text book like"

-guidelines

You really need to be able to look inside each one and see if it fits your style of learning/studying.

My BEST answer to you is two-step...

1) Do an ENA 150 question online test to see what you get.

2) Use the scores from the test to show your weak areas, then get some review books, and go right to the topics you are weaker in, and do a focused review on those topics.

3) THEN go back and do another ENA 150 question test; see if your scores improve or not.

That being said, it can be expensive to take those seperate ENA online tests. There is a ENA CEN review manual (the blue book) that has 5 exams in the book (written exams), PLUS a "code" to access TWO online practice tests. Those practice tests are worth $75 each. The book is available on Amazon, Ebay, Half.com etc.

Let us know how you decide to proceed and please ask any other questions you have, my whole goal in this education thing is to help students pass their exams and make them less intimidating!

Good luck!

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Great tips above mwboswell. What are some ways you recommend studying for the revised CEN exam? Will you be providing an update on your experience on the new July exam? I just registered to take my exam. My goal is to obtain my CEN before I start my new job at a trauma center in August. Thanks!

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