the4thRNsibling

Hello OP and @MusicGuy, do you take care of stress tests? I work recovery for 4 years, still do… and I am also hitting my 2 years for CTICU next month. I had asked what the nurses role and one of the staff said, “key, is a very good IV skill”. This lab I’m interested in caters cardio version, TEE, stress tests.. can you tell us more.

I passed my certification yesterday and I wanted to shed light on this journey. I am a PACU RN for 1 year 8 months Varied shift FT RN catering Pediatric, Adult and Geriatric populations, sometimes we have ICU, CTICU, CathLab overflow PD RN catering mostly Neuro/Spine, Bariatric Prior RN experience for 1 year Float RN in a sub acute rehab facility 2 floors Med/Surg 1 floor Ortho Certification eligibility requirements: RN license At least 1200 hrs direct clinical practice in Phase I But first, a DISCLAIMER: I do not endorse any one vendor or product. I only wish to provide you exam prep ideas Timeline: Became ASPAN member to avail discounted exam price, access articles and journals - August Applied for CPAN - September 1 Attended CAPA/ CPAN Review Course (conducted by Zander PeriOperative Education) - October 6-7 Exam scheduled - November 15 Exam Prep Materials: ASPAN Core Curriculum - Maroon Book Outlined, I mostly read the Medications as in Anesthetics, Reversal, MH, Fluid Replacements ASPAN Guidelines - read the Green Book (2015-2016) Read everything! There are a lot of questions about its recommendations ACLS/ PALS Worth perusing, I had 3 ACLS exam questions that came out MHAUS Website and Youtube Channel Check out Traci Hansen, MHAUSvideo ABPANC Facebook Page They alternately put out a CAPA/ CPAN question every Wednesdays ASPAN Certification Review 4th Ed - Purple Book - if you purchased this as new, you will have a scratch code to access additional 175 online questions with rationale at Elsevier.com STAT Pearls LLC Perianesthesia Nursing (CAPA/ CPAN) - mobile app, 550 questions with rationale PSI Web Test for CPAN (Simulation) - BOGO for $50 without rationale but with cited sources I doubted I would pass since my work schedule was varied and most of the time, I get so tired after work leaving me less or no time to study. Also, the amount of time I allotted for the preparation was short. I have no prior background in ICU making hemodynamics a little hard to understand like CI, CO, SVR, CVP, PAWP etc. I found the questions in the Purple book very overwhelming and the rationale doesn't seem to tell you why it was the best answer. I managed answering the book twice though, to get a hang of how the exam questions were structured. I came across the Mobile App which was not just convenient, it had a better rationale provided. It came with 10 free multiple choice items and an additional 550 questions for $9. Which was not a bad purchase! So I tried my best to at least answer 75 items/ day. Whatever I got incorrect, I look it up or I peruse over my resources. I also encourage you guys to enroll in a review class, most of the people that was in my class had over 10 years experience in Critical Care (ICU, ER) and it worried me a little because they were asking questions which was my first time hearing them like oxyhemoglobin shift, fink phenomenon, etc! Anyway, the review class was advertised in my hospital's bulletin, it was costly, I paid $245 for a 2-day review course, lunch included, 16.0 contact hours but the most amazing part was the 60-day online review video that they provide in their website. It was very helpful during my commute to and fro work. I saved the Web Test last to do to get a fresh idea on how the real exam was, and most of the practice questions on here came out in the actual exam. Overall, I highly believe that if you have your mind and heart to it. You can make it. I highly doubted that I can make it through my PACU orientation out from the sub acute facility but I made it through until the present. So I thought, it is possible to dream on this certification. And yes, I am thankful to say I made it at first attempt! PS. I used to answer 100 items/ day for my NCLEX preparation. It was harder because of the SATA questions. CPAN is all multiple choice. If you have not been in any exam lately, you will have a hard time putting your brain to exam mode. The gist is to keep answering practice questions, and looking up your wrong answers. Now, I wonder if my hospital will reimburse my certification costs? Does your hospital reimburse? Good luck and dream on!

I just passed my certification today. I studied 3 different exam preparation materials... the ASPAN Certification Review Book (Purple) - gives you specific question per category and has a rationale - - if you buy a new book, it comes with a code that gives you additional 750 online exam mobile app STAT Pearls for CAPA/CPAN - better rationale plus a list/ link of the study/ research that supports it recommended Web Tests from ABPANC - this gives you a feel of the real exam structure, I took the practice test the week I took the exam I would rate the exam 7/10. 0 easiest and 10 hardest. But I think it depends on how long you are working in PACU, patient acuity and population you serve. Eye procedure is very rare at my PACU so I find that system challenging. Just keep answering questions to get the feel of how the exam is structured. And look it up right away why it was incorrect.