kimmini

I passed CCRN today! Yay!! Honestly, I can't believe I passed because it was pretty damn hard.. Not to discourage any of you out there who is planning to take the test but... yes.. It was hard. I almost screamed at the test center after I got my result saying that I got over hundred questions right. LOL Anyway I wanna share my experience about the exam. Many of the thread I found here before I took the test was kind of outdated at least few years old and the test plan just got updated(?) as of October 2015. I studied with Laura Gasparis DVD and PASS CCRN question banks. Very good study material and I highly recommend the DVD. Even though the DVD I used is like 10 years old (I think) it really helps by focusing on what will actually present on the test. PASS CCRN questions were great. I was keep practicing with "exam mode" and only downside of it was that I was keep getting falsely high score as I practice more and more. Because, I was answering questions from the memory not even looking at the questions since some of the questions are repetitive as you practice over and over again. I believe I got slammed with many of those 25-unscored questions in the beginning. And I panicked and panicked question after question. I could not figure out what answer is and some of them I couldn't even understand what question is asking for. So I bookmarked many of the first 30-40 questions (the test let you bookmark the questions so that you can come back later to answer). My advice to you is do not panic! The questions that you know the answers will show up soon. Just keep your coolness and focus. It took me the whole three hours (minus one minute) to complete the test. And I think it was because I wasted my time in the beginning of my test by panicking and thinking in my head there is no way I am gonna pass this test and worrying about how much it is gonna cost to retake it. LOL But toward the end of the test some of the answers were very obvious and I did not even have to read the whole thing to find out the right answer. But overall questions are not long meaning they do not elaborate the situations; only few data will present to you. So, do not make any assumption or make up your own scenario. Question bank that I used to prepare for the test was kind of heavy on heart sounds like murmurs, s3, s4. I made flash cards and memorized it until the last minute I stepped into the test center. I don't think I can recall questions on heart sounds. Maybe one? two? You need to know your cardiac meds obviously. I saw a lot of questions with Nipride and dobutamin and ACEI. Know your MEDS like what kind of combination of meds will you use with certain type of situation and why? What does it do on your pre and afterload kind of questions. You need to know your skin/integumentary too like pressure ulcer or deep tissue injury. I also saw some questions about HIT, DIC, ITP. Don't underestimate behavioral/psych and ethical practice part. I got a question about Maslow's hierarchy question. I was like what? To sum up it was a hard test but it was doable. I am so relived now and proud of myself! I only have one year of ICU experience (Previously I was med-surg nurse). So, if I did it you can do it too. Happy studying ! :)

Thanks for all of your input :) I talked to my manager and she said there is scholarship/reimbursement going on for this month for anyone who can pass the exam. I would assume this will only cover the test fee. I don't think they will pay for the review course or the books/dvd that I need. Anyway I just paid for my test to force myself and be proactive. Maybe I will be able to get that fee reimbursed Wish me luck guys!

Hi, all! I am planning on taking CCRN test soon. I was wondering (since I have been hearing about how amazing Laura Gasparis review video or audio cd is) whether I can purchase used Laura's video from anyone of you who has this. Honestly, the DVD from the official website is little too expensive for me and CCRN test alone will cost me $300. I have purchased PassCCRN book (also expensive) but I am having a very hard time following the materials in the book and this is making me having hard time doing the question bank. I googled and searched on Amazon to find a used Laura's CD but I don't see it at all out there. Any CCRN willing to help this soon-to-be-CCRN(hopefully)? Also, I will appreciate any input about other test studying strategies! Thanks!!