Learn how to access free practice questions when you are studying for the CCRN exam.
Taking CCRN practice questions is one of the best ways to prepare for the exam and test your knowledge. They also happen to be pretty fun to take, especially when you start to answer more correctly. Practice questions are an integral part of CCRN review courses, but not everyone will take a review course. Thus, many nurses wonder where they can access CCRN practice questions free of cost to support their independent studies.
Where to look for free CCRN practice questions
It may seem straightforward, but a simple Google search for free CCRN practice questions can yield numerous test-like questions. Many online tutoring and review companies offer free questions to grab your attention. You may also run across practice exams, which is another useful way to apply your knowledge and see where you are in your preparation.
You can also review the CCRN exam handbook from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, which includes 8 sample test questions pertinent to your specific patient population (neonatal, pediatric, adult)
Another compelling way to get free CCRN questions is to sign up for a “question of the day” app. Many organizations offer these apps for board certification preparation.
If you took the NCLEX within the last few years, you might recall this as a useful study tool. Doing a “question of the day” can help you access CCRN review content on the go and encourage you to review content every day up until test day.
Things to keep in mind about free practice questions
Free questions are a great way to gain exposure to a variety of content. However, there are a few things you need to consider when relying solely on free questions.
Firstly, CCRN instructors, or even people with critical care nursing experience, do not always write these questions. Also, they rarely have approval from any professional organizations like the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). Therefore, you may need to be a little speculative of the answers and solutions, if included. A good rule of thumb is to answer the question and find your own justification why your answer is right or wrong.
Secondly, not all questions offer explanations when they give you the answer. Thus, you may miss out on a learning opportunity, especially if you do not follow up with further studying.
Thirdly, free practice questions may not reflect the current test plan on the CCRN exam. The test content can vary over several years, so older questions may not be pertinent nor even correct with newer, evidence-based information.
What types of questions will you see on exam day?
The CCRN certification exam consists of 150 questions. You will be graded on 125, as the remaining 25 are for research purposes for future exams. You will not know which questions are for research and which are graded, so make sure you do your best on every question.
The CCRN exam will ask you questions on the following content:
- Clinical Judgement (80%)
- Professional Caring & Ethical Practice (20%)
Clinical judgment questions cover all of the body systems you need to know in critical care nursing. Here is the breakdown of each section:
- Cardiovascular (17%)
- Respiratory (15%)
- Endocrine/Hematology/Gastroinsteinal/Renal/Integumentay (20%)
- Musculoskeletal/Neurological/Psychosocial (14%)
- Multisystem (14%)
The AACN updated the CCRN test plan in March 2020. Click here to access the test plan from the CCRN exam handbook.
When to start taking CCRN practice questions
Now! If you are reading this article and considering the possibility of getting your CCRN certification, take some practice questions online to see how well you know your stuff before studying. It helps to do review questions throughout your entire review process to continuously assess your understanding and apply what you have learned to exam-like questions.
Once you have made it pretty far in your studying, it is helpful to take a practice exam. A practice test will give you an idea of where your strengths and weaknesses are in your preparation. You don’t want to leave this until a few days before the exam because you want to have plenty of time to brush up on areas where you are struggling. Taking a couple of practice tests is a good strategy toward the middle and end of your studying.
Because practice questions can simulate what you will see on test day, you are more likely to be confident when you take more questions. Thus, test questions are also an excellent strategy for people who feel nervous in an exam setting.
Do CCRN review courses offer practice questions?
Yes! Access to numerous practice questions is one of the many benefits of taking a review course. Indeed, taking an online or in-person review course guarantees you access to over 100 practice questions. Keep in mind that it is hard to return to practice questions from in-person review courses, so online review courses are often more useful for people who like to return to the material.
Besides giving you access to numerous questions, review courses are more likely to make sure the content is accurate and relevant to the current CCRN test plan. Additionally, if you have any questions, you can usually reach out to an instructor or even peers in-person or in online discussion forums to help you better understand the material.
You can also access test questions from a CCRN review book, should you opt-out of a review course and design your own study plan.
CCRN review courses are one of the best ways to boost your odds of passing the exam on your first try. With Critical Care Academy, we are so confident in our testing materials that we offer a 100% money-back guarantee. Our course gives you access to well over 100 practice questions, quizzes, and a final exam. Review content is delivered through video modules that offer a microlearning environment at your pace and on-to-go.
Ready to get the ball rolling on your CCRN exam studying?
Ready to have better patient outcomes and save more lives? Apply to get your CCRN today!