The Ins and Outs of Being a Progressive Care Certified Nurse (PCCN®)

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 look at a nursing specialty you may not be familiar with–the Progressive Care Nurse.

What Does Being a PCCN Mean?

Being a progressive care nurse means you’ll be working with patients who need an intermediate level of care. They’re not so acutely ill that they need to be in the ICU, but they are not well enough to be in a med/surg unit. You’ll work with patients in such settings as the step-down unit, as well as the intermediate care, progressive care, telemetry, and transitional care units.

What Does a PCCN Do?

A progressive care nurse works with acutely ill adult patients who are moderately stable with an elevated risk of instability. These patients require significant levels of vigilance. Nurses who work in progressive care environments strive to keep very ill patients from becoming more acute. In this role, you’ll monitor vital signs, detect changes, and begin critical interventions as needed.

What Type of Person is a PCCN?

You’ll need an advanced skill set, including strong assessment capabilities and the ability to carefully monitor complex patients. You’ll also need to understand critical care and have the skills and understanding to keep patients from needing intensive care.

How Do I Become Certified as a PCCN?

To earn PCCN certification, you’ll be required to pass the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ (AACN) 2.5-hour exam of 125 multiple-choice questions. To qualify for the exam, you’ll need to be an RN or APRN, and to have completed at least 1,750 clinical hours caring directly for acutely ill patients during a 2-year period. At least 875 of those hours need to be during the year before you sit for the exam. Alternatively, you’ll need at least 2,000 clinical hours over a 5-year period, with at least 144 of those hours occurring in the year before you apply for the exam. The exam will ask questions only about adult patients and covers questions about clinical judgement as well as professional caring and ethical practice. This certification is only valid for 3 years, so it’s important to stay up to date about standards of care and recertify when the time comes. 

Be sure not to confuse PCCN certification with PCCN-K certification. While the PCCN credential is geared for nurses who work in direct patient care, the Progressive Care Knowledge Professional (PCCN-K) credential is geared for those who influence care but don’t provide direct care. It’s designed for roles such as academic faculty, clinical director, managers and nurse administrators.

Are You Preparing for the Exam?

To help you pass with ease, use our Progressive Care Nurse (PCCN®) Certification Interactive Q&A Practice digital product, packed with practice questions, a full-length practice exam, five 25-question mini-tests, interactive games, and more!

Resources

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Get Certified. Retrieved from https://www.aacn.org/certification/get-certified

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Certification Corporation. PCCN Exam Handbook. July 2020. Retrieved from https://www.aacn.org/~/media/aacn-website/certification/get-certified/handbooks/pccnexamhandbook.pdf

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. Frequently Asked Questions About PCCN Certification. Retrieved from https://www.aacn.org/certification/get-certified/frequently-asked-questions-about-pccn-certification

Daily Nurse. Progressive Care and Being PCCN Certified.  Retrieved from https://dailynurse.com/progressive-care-and-being-pccn-certified/

Walden University. What Is Progressive Care Nursing? Retrieved from https://www.waldenu.edu/online-bachelors-programs/bachelor-of-science-in-nursing/resource/what-is-progressive-care-nursing