Nursing, Nursing RN, Exam Prep
The Ins and Outs of Being an Adult CCRN®
Jan 25, 2019
Thinking about the next step in your career? The nursing profession is a robust field, with certifications running the gamut of clinical, managerial, and educational specialties. But which is the best choice for you? Here, we’ll take a deep dive into what it means to be an Adult Critical Care Nurse.
Adult CCRN®: What Does It Mean?
Adult critical care registered nurses, or Adult CCRN®s, are certified to work in the intensive care unit or other similar unit to care for critically ill patients. Get more information on eligibility requirements by checking out our How to Certify article!
What Does an Adult CCRN® Do?
An Adult CCRN® treats adults who have serious diseases or conditions. Such adults may be unstable, comatose, or dying in some cases.
An Adult CCRN will often work in hospital settings such as intensive care units, cardiac care units, neurological units, trauma units or critical care transport. You’ll frequently encounter critically ill patients who are on a ventilator or have a feeding tube, for example. While staffing ratios are usually set by the state, the typical nurse-to-patient ratio in an ICU is 1:2 (1 nurse to 2 patients), compared to a medical-surgical unit, where the ratio can be as high as 1:10.
What Type of Person is an Adult CCRN®?
As with nearly all nursing professions, being caring and compassionate is especially crucial. It’s important for Adult CCRNs® to have the ability to build trusting relationships with not only their patients but their patients’ families, too. This proves helpful when attempting to get critical information that may help in diagnosis, and having well-established trust serves to ease stress on all parties involved. An Adult CCRN® also needs to be continually learning, because change is constant when caring for critically ill patients. Clinical procedures and care protocols change often, and the ICU is pretty high tech as far as equipment is concerned, so prepare to be in constant learning mode.
How Do I Become an Adult CCRN®?
To become an Adult CCRN® you must first become an RN, after which you must work in a critical care setting providing direct bedside care for at least 1,750 hours over the course of 2 years. Then, to obtain an Adult CCRN® certification from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), you’ll have to pass the computer-based or paper-and-pencil certification exam. Once you pass, there’s not much time to rest on your laurels. Remember what we said about needing to be in constant learning mode? This certification is only good for 3 years, which is shorter than for other nursing specialties. If you stay up to date on standards of care, that will make recertifying later much easier. Read more on how to certify here.
Are You Preparing for the Exam?
Click here to take our free practice quiz. For more study options, choose from our book and app products, featuring 500 practice questions to help you make the grade!
Resources
Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. (n.d.). Question: What is the suggested nurse/patient ratio and the suggested CNA/patient ratio for a medical-surgical floor? Retrieved from https://www.amsn.org/practice-resources/care-term-reference/staffing/question-what-suggested-nursepatient-ratio-and
American Association of Critical Care Nurses. (n.d.). CCRN (Adult). Retrieved from https://www.aacn.org/certification/get-certified/
Menzies Kent, K. (2014). Adult CCRN Certification Review. New York: Springer Publishing.
Adult CCRN®: What Does It Mean?
Adult critical care registered nurses, or Adult CCRN®s, are certified to work in the intensive care unit or other similar unit to care for critically ill patients. Get more information on eligibility requirements by checking out our How to Certify article!
What Does an Adult CCRN® Do?
An Adult CCRN® treats adults who have serious diseases or conditions. Such adults may be unstable, comatose, or dying in some cases.
An Adult CCRN will often work in hospital settings such as intensive care units, cardiac care units, neurological units, trauma units or critical care transport. You’ll frequently encounter critically ill patients who are on a ventilator or have a feeding tube, for example. While staffing ratios are usually set by the state, the typical nurse-to-patient ratio in an ICU is 1:2 (1 nurse to 2 patients), compared to a medical-surgical unit, where the ratio can be as high as 1:10.
What Type of Person is an Adult CCRN®?
As with nearly all nursing professions, being caring and compassionate is especially crucial. It’s important for Adult CCRNs® to have the ability to build trusting relationships with not only their patients but their patients’ families, too. This proves helpful when attempting to get critical information that may help in diagnosis, and having well-established trust serves to ease stress on all parties involved. An Adult CCRN® also needs to be continually learning, because change is constant when caring for critically ill patients. Clinical procedures and care protocols change often, and the ICU is pretty high tech as far as equipment is concerned, so prepare to be in constant learning mode.
How Do I Become an Adult CCRN®?
To become an Adult CCRN® you must first become an RN, after which you must work in a critical care setting providing direct bedside care for at least 1,750 hours over the course of 2 years. Then, to obtain an Adult CCRN® certification from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), you’ll have to pass the computer-based or paper-and-pencil certification exam. Once you pass, there’s not much time to rest on your laurels. Remember what we said about needing to be in constant learning mode? This certification is only good for 3 years, which is shorter than for other nursing specialties. If you stay up to date on standards of care, that will make recertifying later much easier. Read more on how to certify here.
Are You Preparing for the Exam?
Click here to take our free practice quiz. For more study options, choose from our book and app products, featuring 500 practice questions to help you make the grade!
Resources
Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. (n.d.). Question: What is the suggested nurse/patient ratio and the suggested CNA/patient ratio for a medical-surgical floor? Retrieved from https://www.amsn.org/practice-resources/care-term-reference/staffing/question-what-suggested-nursepatient-ratio-and
American Association of Critical Care Nurses. (n.d.). CCRN (Adult). Retrieved from https://www.aacn.org/certification/get-certified/
Menzies Kent, K. (2014). Adult CCRN Certification Review. New York: Springer Publishing.