The Emergency Nurses Association sponsors the CEN certification in nursing for emergency room nurses. The association is committed to enhancing the practice of emergency nursing and excellence in patient care. The CEN testifies to the specialized body of knowledge and skills that the dedicated nurse must have in order to earn the CEN credentials. Nursing schools will cover ER nursing to a limited extent, but no enough to qualify a recent grad for certification.
Qualifying for CEN Certification
The nurse must have a current unrestricted nursing license in order to be eligible to sit for the CEN exam. Any restrictions against the nurse’s license do not disqualify him/her from taking the exam unless they prohibit the nurse from performing activities that are normally performed during the course of emergency nursing. You are not required to have a BSN to take the examination; and there are no practice requirements; however, it is recommended that the nurse have two years of experience in emergency nursing.
The exams are conducted by computer and by pencil and paper at testing sites located across the country. The candidate should consult the candidate handbook which can be downloaded free of charge from the Emergency Nurses Association website for further details about testing centers.
The exams cover both the professional and scholarly areas of professional nursing, as well as knowledge of physiology and pathology. The CEN exam contains 175 test questions, of which 25 are non-scored items that are being tested and validated for use in possible future versions of the CEN exam. There are three hours allotted for the candidate to complete the exam. A score of 73% is needed to pass.
The CEN credentials are valid for a term of four years, after which the candidate must renew either by retaking the exam, by completing continuing education units, or by utilizing and internet exam. When renewing the CEN by retaking the exam, the process is the same as initially experienced by the candidate. The fee is paid and testing scheduled via computer.
Renewing by continuing education units, requires that the candidate earn 100 continuing education units related to emergency nursing during the preceding four-year period.Seventy-five of those hours must relate to clinical education, the other twenty-five can be from other nursing categories.
A third and very interesting option is Internet-based testing. This test can be completed from home and the use of references is needed and encouraged. This type of renewal is designed to enhance and encourage learning.
The respect and recognition that CEN certification brings to the professional nurse is a means by which their highly technical and specialized body of knowledge is recognized, and credibility is enhanced among patients and professional colleagues.