Prepare for your CCRN® examination with Archer Review!

To become certified as a Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) through the direct care route, the registered nurse must first complete direct care hours (depicted below). After completing the hours, the RN will sit for the CCRN certification exam, which assesses their critical care knowledge base.

• Two-year option: 1,750 hours of direct care to acutely/critically ill patients in the last two years with 875 of those hours completed within the last year.
• Five-year option: 2,000 hours of direct care to acutely/critically ill patients in the last 5 years, with 144 of those hours completed within the last year.

The main incentive to becoming CCRN certified is to maintain knowledge that is up to date with current practices to aid in competent care for critically ill patients. Many hospitals financially incentivize critical care nurses to become certified by offering to pay for the examination and/or paying the nurse an additional hourly rate once certified. If one is interested in obtaining an advanced degree in nursing, many programs require or strongly recommend being certified in your primary nursing specialty.

The CCRN exam contains 125 questions (150 total, including research items). The nurse must answer 83 questions correctly to pass. The test is made up of 80% clinical judgment questions (which relate to concepts from each body system) and 20% professional caring and ethics questions.

We suggest studying 2 to 6 weeks before your exam date. The exact time depends on how much time you plan to devote to studying per week.

The CCRN Question Bank (Q-Bank) is a comprehensive collection of practice questions designed to help you prepare for your CCRN certification exam. The Q-Bank covers all topics listed on the test plan provided by the AACN. This includes all body systems as well as professional caring and ethics questions. Each question item contains detailed rationales to further expand knowledge, whether you get the question right or wrong.