Pediatric CCRN Exam

The Pediatric CCRN exam is a computer-based test of multiple-choice questions. Each question has four answer choices and one best answer.

You need a current, unencumbered U.S. RN or APRN license and recent direct-care experience with acutely or critically ill pediatric patients. AACN offers two practice-hour options.

The official percentages are rounded, so they add up to slightly more than 100. The test plan also lists testable nursing actions, such as interpreting blood gases, managing mechanical ventilation, caring for patients with external ventricular drains, and recognizing sepsis early. Those actions are taught throughout the content sections.

Every AACN certification exam is organized around the AACN Synergy Model for Patient Care. The model says that outcomes are best when a nurse's competencies match the needs of the patient and family. Patients are described by eight characteristics (resiliency, vulnerability, stability, complexity, resource availability, participation in care, participation in decision making and predictability), and nurses by eight competencies (clinical judgment, advocacy and moral agency, caring practices, collaboration, systems thinking, response to diversity, facilitation of learning and clinical inquiry). Section 11 explains the model in detail, because it is the basis for the 20% Professional Caring and Ethical Practice portion.

The exam is criterion-referenced. A panel of pediatric critical care experts reviews every question and sets the passing point with a method called the modified Angoff, so you are measured against a fixed standard, not against other candidates. Only the 125 scored questions count, and the 25 pretest questions are mixed in where you cannot tell which ones they are. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so answer every question.

• A child with a set of vital signs or findings, followed by "Which action should the nurse take FIRST?" or "What is the most appropriate IMMEDIATE intervention?"
• "The nurse should suspect..." questions that test recognition of a complication or diagnosis from a pattern of findings
• Data interpretation: blood gases, laboratory panels, hemodynamic and intracranial pressure readings, ventilator settings and rhythm descriptions
• Medication questions that use generic drug names and focus on indications, safe administration and monitoring
• Professional caring scenarios about families, ethics, consent and assent, teaching, collaboration and system issues