Introduction
Welcome, students! This page is dedicated to your needs and interests as you continue your training to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) by providing resources to help you on your path to certification. To begin your career as a CRNA, student need to take and pass the National Certification Examination (NCE), sometimes referred to as “the boards.”
National Certification Examination (NCE)
Students can take the NCE at any point after completing a multi-year educational program at one of the nation’s 137 accredited Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. The NCE may be taken up to four times following the completion of a nurse anesthesia education program. The NCE is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for entry-level nurse anesthesia practitioners. It is a variable-length, computerized adaptive test with 100-170 questions and a maximum of three hours allowed to complete it. Questions can take the form of multiple-choice, calculations, drag and drop, hotspot, and graphics/videos. Learn more about the question types in the NCE Handbook.
Preparing for the NCE
Before taking the NCE, NBCRNA recommends taking the Self-Evaluation Examination (SEE). Most nurse anesthesia programs incorporate the use of the SEE in their programs. This voluntary self-examination has three objectives:
- Provide information to students about progress in their nurse anesthesia education program.
- Provide information to program administrators on how well their programs are preparing students with the knowledge they need for anesthesia practice.
- Prepare students for the NCE experience.
The SEE is a 240-question computerized adaptive examination consisting of multiple-choice, multiple-correct responses, short answer/calculations, drag and drop, and hotspot questions. It serves as an important foundation in preparation for the NCE. Learn more about what the SEE entails in the SEE Handbook.
Exam Tutorial
The NBCRNA has developed an exam tutorial with the purpose of helping examinees with interactive examples of the five question formats contained within the NCE and SEE. This tutorial contains a total of 20 sample items that depict generally how the questions will look in the exam administration software, as well as basic instructions for responding to each question type, and can be taken an unlimited number of times.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Effective July 1, 2022, the NCE and SEE exam delivery will be restricted to the Pearson VUE, Pearson Professional Centers (PPCs).
Learn more here.