CCRN Exam Handbook - American Association of Critical-Care Nurses

42 Pages·2016·1.69 MB·English

CCRN
Exam Handbook
(Adult • Pediatric • Neonatal)
Acute/Critical Care
Nursing Certification
MISSION
AACN Certification Corporation drives patient health and safety through comprehensive
credentialing of acute and critical care nurses ensuring practice consistent with standards of
excellence.

VISION
All nurses caring for acutely and critically ill patients and their families are certified.

VALUES
As the Corporation advances its mission and vision to fulfill its purpose and inherent obligation of
ensuring the health and safety of patients experiencing acute and critical illness, the Corporation is
guided by a set of deeply rooted values:
• Providing leadership to bring all stakeholders together to create and foster cultures of
excellence and innovation
• Acting with integrity and upholding ethical values and principles in all relationships and
the provision of sound, fair and defensible credentialing programs
• Committing to excellence in credentialing programs by striving to exceed industry
standards and expectations
• Promoting leading edge, research-based credentialing programs for all nurses who
care for and influence the care of acutely and critically ill patients
• Demonstrating stewardship through fair and responsible management of resources and
cost-effective business processes

ETHICS
AACN and AACN Certification Corporation consider the American Nurses Association (ANA)
Code of Ethics for Nurses foundational for nursing practice, providing a framework for making
ethical decisions and fulfilling responsibilities to the public, colleagues and the profession. AACN
Certification Corporation’s mission of public protection supports a standard of excellence where
certified nurses have a responsibility to read about, understand and act in a manner congruent with
the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses.

The following AACN Certification Corporation programs have been accredited by the National Commission
for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), the accreditation arm of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE):

CCRN® (Adult) PCCN® ACCNS-AG®

CCRN® (Pediatric) CMC® ACCNS-P®

CCRN® (Neonatal) CSC® ACCNS-N®

CCRN-ETM (Adult) ACNPC-AG®

Our advanced practice certification programs, ACCNS-AG, ACCNS-P, ACCNS-N and ACNPC-AG, meet the
National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) criteria for APRN certification programs.
Certification Organization for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
CCRN EXAM HANDBOOK

Acute/Critical Care Nursing Certification - Adult, Pediatric, Neonatal
As healthcare becomes increasingly complex and challenging, certification has emerged as a mark of excellence showing
patients, employers and the public that a nurse possesses a defined body of knowledge and has met the rigorous
requirements to achieve specialty and/or subspecialty certification.

AACN Certification Corporation programs were created to protect healthcare consumers by validating the knowledge of
nurses who care for and/or influence the care delivered to the acutely and critically ill. We are pleased to provide you with
this handbook with information about our programs and how to apply for and take the CCRN certification exam.

Today, more than 115,000 practicing nurses hold one or more of these certifications from AACN Certification Corporation:
Specialty Certifications
CCRN® is for nurses providing direct care to acutely/critically ill adult, pediatric or neonatal patients.
CCRN-K™ is for nurses who influence the care delivered to acutely/critically ill adult, pediatric or neonatal patients,
but do not primarily or exclusively provide direct care.
CCRN-E™ is for nurses working in a tele-ICU monitoring/caring for acutely/critically ill adult patients from a remote
location.
PCCN® is for progressive care nurses providing direct care to acutely ill adult patients.
PCCN-K™ is for nurses who influence the care delivered to acutely ill adult patients, but do not primarily or exclusively
provide direct care.

Subspecialty Certifications
CMC® is for certified nurses providing direct care to acutely/critically ill adult cardiac patients.
CSC® is for certified nurses providing direct care to acutely/critically ill adult patients during the first 48 hours after
cardiac surgery.

Advanced Practice Consensus Model-Based Certifications
ACNPC-AG® is for the adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner educated at the graduate level.
The ACCNS credentials are for clinical nurse specialists educated at the graduate level to provide care across the
continuum from wellness through acute care:
ACCNS-AG® is for the adult-gerontology clinical nurse specialists educated to care for adult-gerontology patients.
ACCNS-P® is for the pediatric clinical nurse specialists educated to care for pediatric patients.
ACCNS-N® is for the neonatal clinical nurse specialists educated to care for neonatal patients.

Advanced Practice Certifications
With implementation of the Consensus Model in 2015, ACNPC and CCNS are available as renewal options only:
ACNPC® is for acute care nurse practitioners educated to provide care to adult patients.
CCNS® is for acute/critical care clinical care specialists educated to provide care to adult, pediatric or neonatal patients.
We continually seek to provide quality certification programs that meet the changing needs of nurses and patients.
Please visit www.aacn.org/certification, or call 800-899-2226 for more information about the above certifications.
Thank you for your commitment to patients and their families and to becoming certified.
CCRN Exam Handbook │ January 2019 1
Please direct inquiries to:
AACN Certification Corporation, 101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656-4109
800-899-2226 • Fax: [phone] • [email protected]

Please include your AACN customer number with all correspondence to AACN Certification Corporation.
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CONTENTS
Certification Program................................................................................................................................................................5
Exam Eligibility...........................................................................................................................................................................7
Application Fees........................................................................................................................................................................8
Application Process...................................................................................................................................................................9
Certification Renewal........................................................................................................................................................11-12
AACN Synergy Model for Patient Care..............................................................................................................................13-14
Test Plans
• Adult......................................................................................................................................................................15-18
• Pediatric................................................................................................................................................................21-24
• Neonatal...............................................................................................................................................................27-30
Sample Questions
• Adult......................................................................................................................................................................19-20
• Pediatric................................................................................................................................................................25-26
• Neonatal...............................................................................................................................................................31-32
Exam Bibliography.............................................................................................................................................................33-34
AACN Products for CCRN Exam Preparation....................................................................................................................35-36

Forms
CCRN Exam Application (1st and 2nd pages of 3-page application).............................................................................37-38
CCRN Exam Honor Statement (3rd page of 3-page application).........................................................................................39

The following information can be found in the Certification Exam Policy Handbook online at www.aacn.org/certhandbooks:
• AACN Certification Programs • Duplicate Score Reports
• Name and Address Changes • Recognition of Certification
• Confidentiality of Exam Application Status • Use of Credentials
• Testing Site Information • Denial of Certification
• Exam Scheduling and Cancellation • Revocation of Certification
• On the Day of Your Exam • Review and Appeal of Certification Eligibility
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CCRN CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
CCRN® Registered Service Mark The CCRN exams focus on adult, pediatric and neonatal
patient populations. Eighty percent (80%) of each exam
CCRN is a registered service mark and denotes
focuses on Clinical Judgment and is age-specific for the
certification in acute/critical care nursing as granted by
adult, pediatric and neonatal populations. The remaining
AACN Certification Corporation. Registered nurses who
20% covers Professional Caring and Ethical Practice.
have not achieved CCRN certification, whose CCRN
Professional Caring and Ethical Practice questions may
certification has lapsed or who have chosen Inactive
be asked about any age across the life span while
status are not authorized to use the CCRN credential.
Clinical Judgment questions are restricted to adult,

neonatal or pediatric populations.
Although a common misconception, CCRN is not an
acronym for “critical care registered nurse.” This would
imply that nurses are registered as critical care nurses, CCRN Test Plans
which is not accurate. The content of the CCRN exams is described in the test
plans included in this handbook. Candidates are tested
Purpose and Rationale on a variety of patient care problems that are organized
under major categories. Please note the percentage of
CCRN certification is a specialty certification for nurses
the CCRN exam devoted to each category.
who provide direct care to acutely/critically ill adult,
pediatric or neonatal patients and their families. These
Passing Point/Cut Score
patients may be found in such units as: intensive care,
cardiac care, combined ICU/CCU, medical/surgical ICU, A criterion-referenced standard setting process,
trauma unit or critical care transport/flight. known as the modified Angoff, is used to establish the
passing point/cut score for the exam. Each candidate’s
The CCRN exam is based on a study of practice, also performance on the exam is measured against a
known as a job analysis. The job analysis, conducted at predetermined standard.
least every five years, validates the knowledge, skills and
abilities required for safe and effective practice as an RN The passing point/cut score for the exam is established
or APRN who provides direct care to acutely/critically ill using a panel of subject matter experts, an exam devel-
patients in one of the following patient populations: opment committee (EDC), who carefully reviews each
adult, pediatric or neonatal. exam question to determine the basic level of knowledge
or skill that is expected. The passing point/cut score is
The test plan, which provides an outline of exam content, based on the panel’s established difficulty ratings for
is developed by an expert CCRN panel based on the each exam question.
results of the study of practice. The organizing frame-
work for all AACN Certification Corporation exams is the Under the guidance of a psychometrician, the panel
AACN Synergy Model for Patient CareTM. develops and recommends the passing point/cut score,
which is reviewed and approved by AACN Certification
Clinical practice requirements have been validated by Corporation. The passing point/cut score for the exam
subject matter experts. The required hours of clinical is established to identify individuals with an acceptable
practice correspond to the third stage of competence level of knowledge and skill. All individuals who pass the
in Benner’s Stages of Clinical Competence. CCRN-K exam, regardless of their score, have demonstrated an
certification denotes to the public those practitioners acceptable level of knowledge.
who possess a distinct and clearly defined body of
knowledge called acute/critical care nursing.

CCRN Exam Content
The CCRN exams are 3-hour tests consisting of 150
multiple-choice items. Of the 150 items, 125 are scored
and 25 are used to gather statistical data on item
performance for future exams.

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CCRN EXAM ELIGIBILITY
Licensure Clinical practice hours must be completed in a
U.S.-based* or Canada-based facility or in a facility
Current, unencumbered U.S.* RN or APRN licensure is
determined to be comparable to the U.S. standard of
required.
acute/critical care nursing practice as evidenced by
• An unencumbered license is not currently being Magnet® designation or Joint Commission International
subjected to formal discipline by any state board accreditation.
of nursing and has no provisions or conditions that
limit the nurse’s practice in any way. This applies Nurses serving as manager, educator (in-service or
to all RN or APRN licenses you currently hold. academic), APRN or preceptor may apply hours spent
supervising nursing students or nurses at the bedside.
• If selected for audit, you will be asked to provide
a copy of your RN or APRN license. • Nurses in these roles must be actively involved in
direct patient care; for example, demonstrating
• Candidates and CCRN-certified nurses must notify
how to measure pulmonary artery pressures or
AACN Certification Corporation within 30 days if
supervising a new employee or student nurse
any restriction is placed on their RN or APRN
performing a procedure.
license(s).

Practice Verification
Practice
The name and contact information of a professional
Candidates must meet one of the following clinical
associate must be given for verification of eligibility
practice requirement options:
related to clinical practice hours. If you are selected for
• Practice as an RN or APRN for 1,750 hours in
audit, this associate will need to verify in writing that you
direct care of acutely/critically ill patients during
have met the clinical hour requirements.
the previous 2 years, with 875 of those hours
accrued in the most recent year preceding • A professional associate is defined as your clinical
application. supervisor or a colleague (RN or physician) with
whom you work.
OR

• Practice as an RN or APRN for at least 5 years AACN Certification Corporation may adopt additional
with a minimum of 2,000 hours in direct care eligibility requirements at its sole discretion. Any such
of acutely/critically ill patients, with 144 of those requirements will be designed to establish, for purposes
hours accrued in the most recent year preceding of CCRN certification, the adequacy of a candidate's
application. knowledge in care of the acutely/critically ill.

Eligible hours are those spent caring for the patient *Includes District of Columbia and U.S. territories of Guam,
population (adult, pediatric or neonatal) in alignment Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Northern Mariana
with the exam for which you are applying. A majority of Islands
the total practice hours and those within the year prior
to application for CCRN exam eligibility must focus on
critically ill patients.

Orientation hours spent shadowing/working with
another nurse who is the one with the patient assign-
ment cannot be counted toward clinical hours for CCRN
eligibility; however, orientation hours during which you
are the assigned nurse providing direct care to acutely/
critically ill patients may be counted.

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APPLICATION FEES
CCRN Computer-Based Exam
AACN Members $235
Nonmembers $340
CCRN Retest
AACN Members $170
Nonmembers $275
CCRN Renewal by Exam
AACN Members $170
Nonmembers $275
Payable in U.S. funds. Fees are subject to change without notice. A $15 fee will be charged for a returned check.

Computer-based testing discounts are available for groups of 10 or more candidates submitting their AACN
certification exam applications in the same envelope. Employers may pre-purchase exam vouchers at a further
discounted rate.

For details about Group and Value Program Discounts, visit www.aacn.org/certification > Explore Certification
Volume Discounts, email [email protected] or call 800-899-2226.

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