NICU RNC

http://www.amazon.com/Certification-Review-Neonatal-Intensive-Nursing/dp/1416036679/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252801839&sr=1-1

That's the book we all used on my unit. Although, a bunch of us have been taking a review class that has been offered in the area. It was 3 days, 8 hours each. The instructor was awesome - had powerpoint presentations for each of the topics, and had it all narrowed down to what was important to know for the test. Most of us ended up using that book as more of a reference as we were studying off of the notes from the class, as the book has a lot of information that simply isn't needed for the test.

Good luck - just remember that you can't learn everything in the NICU right away! You need at least 2 years of clinical experience in the NICU to even take the test (if I remember correctly...)

http://www.amazon.com/Certification-Review-Neonatal-Intensive-Nursing/dp/1416036679/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252801839&sr=1-1

That's the book we all used on my unit. Although, a bunch of us have been taking a review class that has been offered in the area. It was 3 days, 8 hours each. The instructor was awesome - had powerpoint presentations for each of the topics, and had it all narrowed down to what was important to know for the test. Most of us ended up using that book as more of a reference as we were studying off of the notes from the class, as the book has a lot of information that simply isn't needed for the test.

Good luck - just remember that you can't learn everything in the NICU right away! You need at least 2 years of clinical experience in the NICU to even take the test (if I remember correctly...)

Thank you!

I did know about the two year requirement, but I figured it would help me get my clinical skills in order as I go along and learn new things.

Yes, it is a requirement that you be practicing for 2 years in order to take the exam. I recommend the Core Curriculum in Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing as a study guide and the Core Review in Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing for practice questions.

Search for the National Certification Corporation or the American Nurses Credentialing Center for info on the NICU certification exam. The NCC will give you the RNC-NIC certification and the ANCC gives the CCRN (Critical Care RN) in NICU certification so you have 2 to choose from.

As an aside, for the CCRN neonatal exam, you only need 1 year of working experience.

Is the CCRN better than having the RNC? Or does it just depend?

RNC is more recognizable in the neonatal world and is easier to maintain (less CEUS), but there isn't much difference otherwise.