Rn,c

Teshiee · Apr 30, 2003

I am interested in obtaining my RN,C in Neonatology could anyone tell me if there is a website I can look up to get information? I would appreciate it, thanks a million oh is anyone going to the Neonatal conference in Vegas? I missed the one in Louisiana can't miss this one too close to my home. Any information is appreciated :) :)

Anaclaire · Apr 30, 2003

teshiee,

i have my rnc "certification in neonatal intensive care nursing" from ncc "national certification corporation for the obstetric, gynecologic and neonatal nursing specialties".

here is a link to their web site:

http://www.nccnet.org

i studied for about 6 months before the exam. it was kind of expensive to take the test but our hospital reimbursed us for the cost of the exam, travel and hotel room and food expenses to go to take the test. if there are a bunch of nurses who want to take the test in your town, they will send a proctor to you; otherwise you generally have to go to a large town to take the test. the test reminded me of when i took the nclex. it was a tough test and not eveyone passes it on their first try. thankfully i was one of the lucky ones. i believe that working in the nicu for at least 2 years makes all the difference because many questions related to decision making and situations we encounter on a daily basis. i'm very happy to have my rnc because it makes me feel a little more confident deep inside... kind of like a little pat on the back if you know what i mean. i say go for it!!!

concerning the ann's 3rd national neonatal nurses meeting (las vegas 9/3-6/03)

i'm going to attend!

my husband and i have made our reservations at the hilton and also bought our airline tickets this past week! right now i'm trying to decide which preconference workshop and which conference workshops i want to attend. there are too many great choices and i'm having a very hard time deciding. but, as soon as i make my decisions... probably by this weekend, i'll sign up and pay my fees. i want to be sure my request is in before the early deadline ends on 6/1/03... saving as much $ as i can since i live far away from las vegas. lucky you for living nearby!

i'm sooo looking forward to it!

anaclaire

Anaclaire · Apr 30, 2003

teshiee,

i have my rnc "certification in neonatal intensive care nursing" from ncc "national certification corporation for the obstetric, gynecologic and neonatal nursing specialties".

here is a link to their web site:

http://www.nccnet.org

i studied for about 6 months before the exam. it was kind of expensive to take the test but our hospital reimbursed us for the cost of the exam, travel and hotel room and food expenses to go to take the test. if there are a bunch of nurses who want to take the test in your town, they will send a proctor to you; otherwise you generally have to go to a large town to take the test. the test reminded me of when i took the nclex. it was a tough test and not eveyone passes it on their first try. thankfully i was one of the lucky ones. i believe that working in the nicu for at least 2 years makes all the difference because many questions related to decision making and situations we encounter on a daily basis. i'm very happy to have my rnc because it makes me feel a little more confident deep inside... kind of like a little pat on the back if you know what i mean. i say go for it!!!

concerning the ann's 3rd national neonatal nurses meeting (las vegas 9/3-6/03)

i'm going to attend!

my husband and i have made our reservations at the hilton and also bought our airline tickets this past week! right now i'm trying to decide which preconference workshop and which conference workshops i want to attend. there are too many great choices and i'm having a very hard time deciding. but, as soon as i make my decisions... probably by this weekend, i'll sign up and pay my fees. i want to be sure my request is in before the early deadline ends on 6/1/03... saving as much $ as i can since i live far away from las vegas. lucky you for living nearby!

i'm sooo looking forward to it!

anaclaire

nurseiam · Apr 30, 2003

I have been to both conferences in New Orleans, I'm really going to miss it! But I am going to Vegas Baby!!!! Now is time to book you reservations....they are dirt cheap! See you all there!:-)

Teshiee · Apr 30, 2003

Anaclaire,

OOh thank you so much. I am glad you did it. I did hear it was a hard test so I will study way ahead of time. Congradulations on passing yours the first try. :-) Yes, I live in Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino County it is a matter of a drive I can't wait to go. It will be my first one. I will keep you posted on my progress :-) thanks again. :)

Teshiee · May 1, 2003

Anaclaire

I have another question re: RNC how on earth did you prepare I have several NICU books but do not know where to begin as far as what to study for? I am excited though thanks again for the info. :-)

NicuGal, MSN, RN · May 1, 2003

All you can really do is review. Each test is different. Look and see if they are offering a "study course" near you.

Mine was Fluids, electrolyes and vents. The one before mine was all genetics...ewwww!

Some of the stuff you will have no clue about because you don't do it or it is completely different from what you are taught.

I used Merstein and Gardner, just read thru it.

Honestly, it isn't as hard as you think it is going to be. If you have the experience and hours under your belt, you'll do fine :) Everyone in our unit that has taken it has passed the first time.

Teshiee · May 2, 2003

NicuGal :-)

thanks for your positive encouragement I hate take test but it is good to know you did well too. Thanks I have that book with me so I will start reviewing thanks a lot. I hope see some of you guys at the convention in Vegas. :-)

Anaclaire · May 2, 2003

Teshiee,

I found my best help from reading

Handbook of Neonatal Care by Merenstein & Gardner
Core Curriculum for Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing edited by Beachy & Deacon (an AWHONN publication published by Saunders)
Manual of Neonatal Care edited by Cloherty & Stark (published by Lippincott-Raven)

I personally found the second two in the above list most helpful for me. The second one is in a good "outline" format, and the last one is spiral bound and full of the nuts and bolts. I chose it because my favorite NNP kept one with her like it was her bible. I figured if it was helpful to her then it could possibly be helpful to me too. When I was new to the NICU I remember several nurses were preparing to take their certification exam. They would bring their "Core Curriculum" books to work and during the quiet times they'd pull them out and quiz one another about things in the book. They kind of did a group study and I'm sure it helped them. As I remember they all passed to. Somewhere, either on their web site or in a packet of infomation I received from them, I saw where they've posted percentages of passing grades by certification type. From what I remember, (now don't quote me here), the NNP test and the Low Risk Newborn Nursing test had the least successful passing rates... something like 70% but the High Risk Neonatal Nursing pass rate was like 90%, one of the highest.

I didn't "cram" for the test. I simply would read a couple of pages each day, concentrating on the parts I felt I needed more study on.

As said before, if you have worked in a NICU for 2 years full time, you should have the knowledge you need to pass the test.

Have faith, stay calm, get good sleep before the test and you should do just fine!!!

If I can be of any help to you, please let me know!!

I look forward to seeing everyone at the convention too!

:cool: