CCRN guides
Direct answers for CCRN format, studying, exam day, scores, and what to do next.
18 source-backed guides
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Open these first if you are still getting oriented, then browse by topic below.
A study order built from the Adult CCRN test plan weights, 6-, 8- and 12-week schedules that fit AACN's testing window, and a way to use the exam bibliography without buying every book.
Read the guideThe six categories of the Adult CCRN test plan for exams taken on and after November 12, 2025, about how many scored items each carries, what each one lists, and where Passy reviews it.
Read the guideAACN's cut score for the CCRN (Adult) exam is 83 correct answers out of 125 scored items, effective November 12, 2025. Here is why AACN says it is not a percentage, how it is set, and how to read the numbers on a score report.
Read the guideWho can take the CCRN (Adult) exam through the Direct Care pathway: the license AACN requires, the two clinical-hour options worked out for full-time, part-time and returning nurses, the verifier rule, and what an audit asks for.
Read the guideA side-by-side of the 2020 and 2025 Adult CCRN test plan weights, the topics that moved or are no longer named, what stayed the same, and a quick check for whether a study resource is current.
Read the guideA four-step ABG method for CCRN (Adult) stems, Winter's formula worked three times, the anion gap and delta gap with a worked example, and original ICU cases for shock, vomiting, and COPD on the ventilator.
Read the guideBrowse the library
Format, passing score, cost, application and scheduling, exam day, and retakes.
The CCRN (Adult) exam fee was $260 for AACN members and $375 for nonmembers on October 18, 2026. Here is a full cost worksheet, the membership arithmetic, and how group and voucher discounts work.
Read the guideHow the CCRN (Adult) exam is built: 150 four-option items, 25 of them unscored, a three-hour clock, two short breaks that add no time, and the on-screen tools for bookmarking and review.
Read the guideAACN lets you take the CCRN (Adult) exam up to four times in a rolling 12-month period at a discounted retest fee. Here is a worked calendar, the cost, a re-study method built on your score report, and why failing a renewal exam is different.
Read the guideThe CCRN (Adult) application and scheduling steps in order: when to apply, what the confirmation email gives you, the 24- and 48-hour scheduling lines, accommodations, and what the current 180-day window means for your timing.
Read the guideCardiovascular review, hemodynamics, and respiratory care and ventilation.
What the 13% cardiovascular category of the CCRN (Adult) test plan covers, with a stable-or-unstable rhythm table from the 2025 AHA guidelines, a tamponade vignette, and the first-hour blood pressure arithmetic for a hypertensive emergency.
Read the guideNormal PA catheter pressures from a named reference, how the waveform changes as the catheter advances, wedge safety, why CVP and wedge do not predict fluid response, and the pressure patterns that point to each shock state and to tamponade.
Read the guideThe CCRN (Adult) respiratory category in practice: tidal volume by predicted body weight worked twice, a peak-versus-plateau troubleshooting table, a sudden-deterioration checklist for ventilated patients, and prone positioning in plain words.
Read the guideEndocrine review, neuro and musculoskeletal care, delirium, and behavioral emergencies.
What the SCCM PADIS guidelines of 2018 and 2025 suggest for ICU sedation and delirium and what they decline to recommend, plus alcohol withdrawal, verbal de-escalation, and suicide screening, as they apply to the CCRN (Adult) behavioral and psychosocial content.
Read the guideHow to tell central diabetes insipidus from SIADH by urine and sodium, how DKA and HHS differ, and how to recognize adrenal crisis and thyroid storm, each with the source and its date, for the CCRN (Adult) exam.
Read the guideThe neurological and musculoskeletal half of CCRN (Adult) Category D: CPP arithmetic against the Brain Trauma Foundation thresholds, the 2026 AHA/ASA stroke blood pressure timeline, neurogenic shock, storming, brain death, and why palpable pulses do not rule out compartment syndrome.
Read the guideSepsis and shock, and acid-base interpretation.
Ethics, advocacy, collaboration, and family-centered care.
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