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Critical care nursing exams, by setting

Four exam sections are open, each with practice questions, a page for each main outline domain and the board's facts. Three more appear with board facts only; pages for them come later. Rows are grouped by the unit the exam belongs to.

Exams by setting

changed in the last 12 months change ahead steady coming

ExamAwarded byHow you sit itAfter a failValid forOutline statusPractice
Stroke and neuroscience units
SCRNStroke Certified Registered Nurse exam · ABNNABNNPSI center or remoteFull fee, 3 tries a year5 yearsSteadyPractice
Trauma care
TCRNTrauma Certified Registered Nurse exam · BCENBCENPSI center or remote90-day wait4 yearsChangedPractice
Flight and ground transport
CFRN · CTRNCertified Flight and Certified Transport Registered Nurse exams · BCENBCENPSI center or remote90-day wait4 yearsChangedPractice
Cardiac units
CMCCardiac Medicine Certification exam · AACNAACNPSI center or remote4 tries in 12 months3 yearsChange aheadPractice
CSCCardiac Surgery Certification exam · AACNAACNPSI / remote4 / 12 months3 yComingnew plan coming
Adult and pediatric ICU
CCRN (Adult)CCRN (Adult) acute/critical care nursing certification exam · AACNAACNPSI / remote4 / 12 months3 yComingcoming
CCRN (Pediatric)CCRN (Pediatric) acute/critical care nursing certification exam · AACNAACNPSI / remote4 / 12 months3 yComingcoming
Related credentials this site does not cover
PCCNProgressive care and step-down · AACNnot covered here
CENEmergency department · BCENnot covered here
CPENPediatric emergency department · BCENnot covered here
CNRNNeuroscience nursing · ABNNnot covered here

Coming next

  • CCRN (Adult) has by far the most holders of any exam listed here (102,129). Its facts are on the board above; its study pages open in a later round.
  • CCRN (Pediatric) follows the same format, on a test plan in use since November 19, 2025.
  • CSC, the cardiac surgery subspecialty, moves to a revised plan on November 19, 2026, together with CMC.

Listed for reference, not covered

Some credentials sit next to these in the same hospitals but are not part of this site: PCCN (progressive care), CEN and CPEN (emergency and pediatric emergency), CNRN (neuroscience), CV-BC (cardiac-vascular, ANCC), RNC-NIC and CCRN (Neonatal) for the NICU, and FP-C for flight paramedics. Where one matters to a choice, the guides below give it a line.

Guides across exams

Sources

all read Nov 11, 2026

  1. [1]ABNN: 2026 SCRN Candidate Handbook (PDF), pp. 3–4, 11, 14–22 abnncertification.org
  2. [2]ABNN: SCRN exam page (FAQ and exam statistics) abnncertification.org
  3. [3]ABNN: 2027 SCRN Candidate Handbook (PDF), pp. 3–4, 14–16 abnncertification.org
  4. [4]BCEN: About the TCRN exam bcen.org
  5. [5]BCEN: Candidate Handbook (PDF), pp. 5–7, 15 bcen.org
  6. [6]BCEN: TCRN exam delivery bcen.org
  7. [7]BCEN: TCRN FAQs bcen.org
  8. [8]BCEN: TCRN cost bcen.org
  9. [9]BCEN: About the CFRN exam bcen.org
  10. [10]BCEN: CFRN exam delivery bcen.org
  11. [11]BCEN: CFRN FAQs bcen.org
  12. [12]BCEN: CTRN FAQs bcen.org
  13. [13]BCEN: CFRN cost bcen.org
  14. [14]AACN: CMC Exam Handbook, August 2026 (PDF), pp. 1–8, 12–13 aacn.org
  15. [15]AACN: CMC and CSC frequently asked questions aacn.org
  16. [16]AACN: CMC Renewal Handbook, July 2026 (PDF), pp. ii–iii, 3–6 aacn.org
  17. [17]AACN: CSC Exam Handbook (PDF) aacn.org
  18. [18]AACN: CSC Renewal Handbook, July 2026 (PDF) aacn.org
  19. [19]AACN: CCRN Exam Handbook (Adult, Pediatric, Neonatal), July 2026 (PDF) aacn.org
  20. [20]AACN: CCRN Renewal Handbook - Direct Care, July 2026 (PDF) aacn.org