PCCN vs CCRN

[chitchat]

never worked in ICU but my background is Tele and PCU. I was going to take PCCN and recently my friend who works in ICU told me to take CCRN instead. I don't really know ventilator that much and monitoring arterial lines. I am not sure if I can score enough to pass CCRN exam if I study since I don't work in ICU. (I have a plan to go to ICU in the future.)

[lkwashington]

you have to work a certain amount of hours in the icu to take the ccrn and tele/pcu to take the pccn. here go a website for you to review.[color=#0e774a]www.aacn.org/[color=#767676]

[chitchat]

I thought what you wrote when my friend said that to me.

I went to AACN website and it said "Practice as an RN or APRN is required for 1,750 hours in direct bedside care of acutely or critically ill patients during the previous two years, with 875 of those hours accrued in the most recent year preceding application."

I also called AACN and made sure it is not limited to ICU nurse. The person I talked to me said that ED nurse or home care nurse can take the exam but it has to be hand-on care.

[lkwashington]

I know an ED nurse who worked ICU for 9 years, she has her CCRN. ED nurses also has their own certification. CEN (Certified Emergency Nurse). You have to have proof of hours from Director, Clinical Coordinator, and/or Nursing Supervisor in whatever AACN exam you decide to take. You may look on other threads on this forum for other information concerning specialty certifications. You dont want to Audit and dont have the correct information needed to stay certified this may cause problems. Type in PCCN or CCRN certification at the top right corner. The website has very good information.

I spent over three years on Tele/PCU unit. I planning on getting my PCCN. I understand ED nurses may take the exam because they do deal with Critical Care patients and admit them to the ICU all the time.

[Reno1978, BSN, RN]

If you aren't comfortable with mechanical ventilation, vasoactive drips, and hemodynamic monitoring, I wouldn't bother with the CCRN. This is what the majority of the exam is on.

I think PCCN would be a more appropriate test for your area of expertise.

[alem-tsahai]

ditto the above. Questions on ventilary (sp) support, drips, and arterial/swan/balloon pump support are pretty much the meat and potatoes of the CCRN. It's NOT an easy exam for nurses with ICU experience so I can't imagine how it would be for someone without any experience in these things.

Nothing wrong with being certified in your area of expertise (in your case PCCN). Question-why would you want to be CCRN certified anyway if you have no ICU exp? Kinda odd advice your friend gave you.

[ObtundedRN, BSN, RN]

You don't take the exam based on what the title of your unit is. ICU vs. PCU. If you read the info from the AACN, it says that it is based on your patient population. In fact I just had an AACN chapter meeting tonight and the topic was on certification and this came up. I'm at a large hospital, where the PCU takes vents and can take vasoactive drips and invasive hemodynamic monitoring. Most of the PCU patients are on vents. They try to keep the vasoactive drips and hemodynamic monitoring in the ICU, but they do have the capability. So for our PCU nurses, they could qualify for the CCRN, but most take the PCCN since it isn't heavy on hemodynamics. In my area, the smaller hospital's ICU patients are about equivalent to our hospital's PCU patients.

Long story short, take the test that is appropriate to your knowledge and patient population. If you don't see vents, vasoactive drips, or hemodynamic monitoring. Then what good will studying and getting certified in all of that do for your patients?

[Scooby-Dooby-Doo]

Hi there, I'm just curious if the reverse of this is true.

I'm a nursing student working a paid internship in a PCU and was wondering if ICU nurses can also take the PCCN just out of curiousity. I understand that the CCRN might be more appropriate but would they also qualify to take the PCCN as well? I read on the AACN website that the PCCN exam takers take it "depending on the acuity level" but since ICU is more acute than PCU, wouldn't ICU RNs be qualified to take the PCCN too?

Please shed some light for me thanks.

[tcvnurse, BSN, RN]

I can't imagine why an ICU nurse would WANT to take the PCCN exam. In our facility before the Progressive Care Cert was invented (its still rather new you know) the IMU nurses who wanted to be certified would sit for the CCRN. Day 1 CABG's and fresh lobectomies could qualify for critical care. The nurses that elected to do that often asked to shadow some days in our CVICU to brush up on stuff like CVPS and vents.