The Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) exam is the test that you need to take in order to become certified as a critical care nurse. The CCRN exam tests the skills and knowledge needed in order to care for patients in critical condition. When studying for the CCRN exam, you need to understand how to perform various tasks, and the medical knowledge related to the specific ailments. There are separate CCRN exams for neonatal, pediatric and adult nursing specialties. Attending a training course, reading the CCRN handbook, purchasing a review book, understanding the format of the exam and taking practice exams all will help you pass the CCRN exam.
Determine whether or not you are qualified to take the CCRN exam. The requirements for the CCRN exam consist of an RN or APRN license and 1,750 hours of care to critical patients two years before applying to take the CCRN exam, with 875 of those hours occurring in the 1-year period before the application is submitted.
Take a course that will help you to review the information needed in order to pass the CCRN exam. A review course will help you to review the procedures that relate to critical care nursing, while concentrating on the types of questions that are asked on the exam. You can take a CCRN review course at a community college or online.
Read the CCRN handbook. When you take the review course for the CCRN exam, you will be able to obtain the CCRN handbook. As you read each section, take notes. Your notes will help you review each section, and writing the information will help you remember it more effectively.
Purchase a CCRN review book. In order to pass the CCRN exam, you need to have a review book. A review book will summarize the information more concisely than the handbook, and allow you to take practice exams. You can purchase a CCRN review book at the bookstore or online.
Understand the format of the exam. In order to pass the CCRN exam, you should know how the test is set up. The CCRN test has multiple choice questions. Each multiple choice question has four answer choices. The questions involve different medical scenarios. For example, you might be asked a question about certain symptoms, and then you have to determine which disease is being described.
Do practice exams. You should do practice exams in order to pass the CCRN exam. In the process of studying, make sure to complete a full exam. When you are finished with the exam, check your answers. If you have any incorrect answers, fix your mistakes.
Get enough sleep before the exam. In order to pass the CCRN exam, you have to make sure that you get enough sleep. This will help you to concentrate more fully on the questions. Also, answer every question on the exam. Do not spend too much time on the questions that you do not know. Answer those that you know first, and then return to the others.