Being a nurse is a rewarding career. You do so much for so many people on a daily basis. You’ll make a difference in their lives. One day you may be saving someone’s life and the next, bringing a new life into the world. You never know what your day is going to consist of.
Not only is this a rewarding career, but there are also different areas that you can work in and have the opportunity to take care of different people and treat various conditions. There are over 100 different nursing specialties that are available to become certified in such as pain management nurse, critical care nurse, or even a midwife.
If you’re taking one of the many nursing exams, check out our Academy page for more information about your exam!
Popular Nursing Certification Review Books
Cardiac-Vascular Nursing Certification Course
- Minimum Requirement: To take the Cardiac/Vascular Nurse exam, applicants must hold a current and active RN license, have practiced a total of 2 years as an RN, completed a minimum of 2,000 clinical hours in cardiac-vascular nursing within the last 3 years.
- Number of Questions: The Cardiac/Vascular Nurse exam includes 175 questions. Of those 175 questions, 150 are scored and 25 are pretest questions that do not count towards your score.
- Length of Exam: The Cardiac/Vascular Nurse exam lasts 3.5 hours.
Review: The content in this book is exactly the content in the ANCC book for the CVN test. The only difference is that this book is not a 300 page sleeping pill. The content is displayed in an easy to read manner and the test questions at the back of the book helped me prepare and pass the ANCC exam. This book was the biggest part of what I studied. My only regret is that I bought it a month after the ANCC book…could have saved myself $120.
- Minimum Requirements: To take the Certified Dialysis Nurse exam, applicants must have an unrestricted RN license, complete a minimum of 2,000 hours as an RN in nephrology nursing care for patients who require dialysis, or educating/supervising staff who care for dialysis patients within the last 2 years, and have completed 15 contact hours of continuing education in nephrology nursing.
- Number of Questions: The Certified Dialysis Nurse exam includes 175 questions.
- Length of Exam: The Certified Dialysis Nurse exam is 3 hours long.
Review: This book helps you to prepare for the CDN exam. It has practice tests and you can check your answers in the back along with the rationale. It’s a review for the seasoned dialysis nurse and for some it may be new materials if you haven’t had experience in PD. Overall, I’m highly satisfied with the content and the communications received from Mometrix.
- Minimum Requirements: To take the Certified Diabetes Educator exam, applicants must have two years professional experience in their discipline such as an RN or a Registered Dietitian, 1,000 hours experience in diabetes education and 15 hours of continuing education related to diabetes.
- Number of Questions: The Certified Diabetes Educator exam includes 200 multiple-choice questions; 25 of which are new questions and are not counted towards your score.
- Length of Exam: The Certified Diabetes Educator exam is timed for 4 hours.
Review: Book arrived on time and was as described. Highly recommended. I particularly Love the practice test questions; I have gained so much knowledge from taking the test and reading the rationale for each answer. My confidence has been positively influenced thus far, and I am sure I will be ready to knock out all the difficult questions on my exam day.
- Minimum Requirements: To take the CHPN exam, the applicant must hold a current and unrestricted RN license, and have 500 practice hours in hospice and palliative nursing in the past 12 months or 1,000 hours in the most recent 24 months.
- Number of Questions: The CHPN exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions, 135 of those questions are scored while 15 are pretest items and are not counted towards your score.
- Length of Exam: The CHPN exam takes 3 hours to complete.
Review: This was by far the most helpful of all the study tools I used to prep for the certification exam. The review information was clear and pretty much exhaustive. The practice exam questions were in line with the actual exam. I scored an 80% on the practice questions, and 85% on the actual exam.
- Minimum Requirements: To take the CRRN exam, the applicant must hold a current and unrestricted RN license and two years of practice as an RN in rehabilitation nursing within the last five years, or one year as an RN in rehabilitation nursing with one year of advanced study (beyond baccalaureate) in nursing within the last 5 years.
- Number of Questions: The CRRN exam includes 150 multiple-choice questions that are counted towards your score and 25 multiple-choice pretest questions that are not counted towards your score.
- Length of Exam: The CRRN exam takes three hours to complete.
Review: Fast shipping. Great communication. Book is super useful and provides lots of clarification and cues to exam. The guide really helped me on reviewing and learning its contents. The guide was helpful to refresh my mind and to prepare for the exam. It made me aware of my strongest points as well as my weakest ones. That way I have some time to re-read the book and also research for extra material.
Informatics Nursing Certification Prep Course
- Minimum Requirements: To take the Informatics Nurse exam, the applicant must hold a current and active RN license, hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in nursing, have practiced as an RN for a total of 2 years full-time, have completed 30 hours of continuing education within the last 3 years, have practiced at least 2,000 hours in informatics nursing within the last 3 years or have practiced a minimum of 1,000 hours in informatics nursing within the last 3 years and have completed at least 12 semester hours in informatics courses that are part of a graduate-level informatics nursing program, or have completed a graduate program in informatics nursing with a minimum of 200 hours of faculty-supervised practice.
- Number of Questions: The Informatics Nurse exam contains 175 questions. Of those 175 questions, 150 are counted towards your score and 25 are pretest questions that are not scored.
- Length of Exam: The Informatics Nurse exam takes 3.5 hours to complete.
Review: I was able to my pass my certification partly because of this book. It had a lot of what was needed to cover the material. It also contains 150 test questions which really helped me test my knowledge. The answers are in the back of the book with rationales for each question which really helped. Many of the rationales explained other informatics-related topics also useful for the exam. In conjunction with this book, I also recommend to anyone taking the certification that they also purchase the practice test questions from the ANCC store and read the ANA Scopes and Standards for Nursing Informatics. Those were the only three things that I used.
Maternal Newborn Nursing Prep Course
- Minimum Requirements: To take the Maternal Newborn Nursing exam, the applicant must currently have an RN license with 24 months experience as an RN that consists of 2,000 hours of Specialty experience, and employment within the specialty within the last 24 months.
- Number of Questions: The Maternal Newborn Nursing exam consists of 150 multiple-choice questions.
- Length of Exam: The Maternal Newborn Nursing exam takes 3 hours to complete.
Review: I purchased the Maternal Newborn Nursing Exam Secrets Study Guide. I have read through the book one time as suggested in the test taking tips page. I am now able to go back and review areas I do not feel as strong in. I would give the book a 5 on a scale of 1-5 as it nicely encompasses all areas that may be addressed on the exam. It is just what I was looking for to assist in preparing for this exam.
Family Nurse Practitioner Exam Secrets Study Guide: NP Test Review for the Nurse Practitioner Exam
Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Prep Course
- Minimum Requirements: To take the Family Nurse Practitioner exam, applicants must hold an active RN license and an advanced degree from a family nurse practitioner program as well as 500 hours of faculty-supervised clinical practice.
- Number of Questions: The Family Nurse Practitioner exam consists of 200 questions, 15 of which are pretest questions and do not count towards your score.
- Length of Exam: The Family Nurse Practitioner exam takes 4 hours to complete.
Review: I am using this product to help me with passing my exit exam from my current NP program. I rate it as a 5 because it broke the information down which has made me understand the concepts.
Review: I bought these to help study for exams while still in NNP school. I separated the cards into the subjects so they are easier to study based on what’s on my exams. The card explanations are in depth which is nice when learning the pathphys. I will continue to use these to study when it comes time for boards!
Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Prep Course
- Minimum Requirements: To take the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner exam, the applicant must hold a current and active RN license as well as a master’s, postgraduate, or doctoral degree from a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner program and clinical training in two psychotherapeutic treatment modalities.
- Number of Questions: The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner exam includes 150 to 175 scored test questions as well as 25 pilot questions that do not count towards the final score.
- Length of Exam: The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner exam takes 4 hours to complete.
Review: I’ve taken several PMHNP review courses recently and this study guide provided me with additional study essentials in the “Test Taking Tips”, “General Strategies” and “Secret Keys” sections. The study guide provided both a succinct review of familiar material and also included new information I didn’t have in my Post-Graduate program or other review courses! The exam review provided refreshing new questions with thorough explanations. It’s definitely a valuable resource to include in preparation for the certification exam. The online resources were also relevant material for the advanced practice nurse to use. I highly recommend it!
- Number of Questions: The Nursing Acceleration Challenge Exam consists of 184 multiple-choice questions.
Review: I was hesitant at first to pay this much for a study guide, but it was totally worth it. I’ve been an LPN for 15+ years but haven’t work in direct patient care in about 9 years & most of my experience in is pediatrics. After trying a couple free online practice tests, I realized that I needed to brush up. This book was definitely the difference in me scoring high enough to get into an LPN-RN bridge program and not getting in! My one suggestion for purchasers is to make sure you leave yourself enough time to study before you take the test… especially if you’re a older nurse, like myself, or a poor test taker. This book has TONS of information. My biggest critique is that the information doesn’t seem well organized to me. It jumps from one topic to another, then back to a similar topic as before. I think that dividing it into body systems or some semi-easily groupings would work better for my type-A brain (instead of having information hop from one thing to the next).
- Minimum Requirements: To take the Nurse Executive exam, the applicant must hold a current and active R license as well as a bachelor’s or higher degree in nursing. They should also have held a mid-level administrative positions or a faculty position or a nursing management position full time for 24 months in the last 5 years. Applicants should also have completed 30 hours of continuing education in nursing administration within the last 3 years.
- Number of Questions: The Nurse Executive exam consists of 175 questions, 25 of which are pretest questions that are not counted towards your score.
- Length of Exam: The Nurse Executive exam takes 3.5 hours to complete.
Review: This book is my first material/resource in reviewing for my Nurse Executive certification. Practicing the questions helped me guide important hints and the important details to pay attention on every questions. I really like the explanation and discussions on each answer.
PCCN Exam Secrets Study Guide: PCCN Test Review for the Progressive Care Certified Nurse Exam
PCCN Certification Prep Course
- Minimum Requirements: To take the PCCN exam, the applicant must have a current RN license along with two years of practice as an RN or APRN with 1,750 hours in direct care of acutely ill adult patients with 875 of those hours accrued within the most recent year or five years practice as an RN or APRN with a minimum of 2,000 hours in direct care of acutely ill adult patients with 144 of those hours accrued in the most recent year.
- Number of Questions: The PCCN exam consists of 125 multiple-choice questions, 25 of which are pretest items and are not counted towards the score.
- Length of Exam: The PCCN exam is a 2.5 hour test.
Review: Several of my coworkers have looked at this book and love its readability. One has already purchased her own copy!. I love how it breaks down information into simple, easy to read paragraphs that are not too detailed or overwhelming. I can see the clinical indications for understanding the material I read. I am looking forward to the practice test once I finish reading the book. Thank you for this study guide! Amazon reviews led me to this book, and I can safely say they were right!
Review: I have used other study guides and this by far, is the best one yet. I have taken the PSB PN before and this study guide has been the close to the material in the actual exam. I did pretty when I took it a few years ago and am very confident that I will be close to acing it this time around! I would recommend this product over others to anyone else taking the PSB PN exam!
