FAQs about CNOR Certification

Q. Do I have to be an AORN member to be certified through CCI?
Q. How can I prepare for the examinations?
Q. Is the CNOR certification only for certain specialties?
Q. Why is certification important for Registered Nurses?
Q. Why should hospitals hire certified perioperative nurses?
Q. What resources does CCI offer hospitals and healthcare facilities?
Q. When should nurses start thinking about certification?
Q. Do certified nurses receive higher salaries?
Q. What is the job outlook for CNORs and CRNFAs?
Q. Should nurse managers and administrators encourage their staff to seek certification?
Q. How does CCI verify that its certification program is fair, accurate and represents current standards of perioperative practice?
Q. How does CCI support certifcants?
Q. What is a CCI Champion?
Q. How can I get involved as a volunteer leader for CCI?
Q. How does CCI contribute to the industry?
Q. How many nurses does CCI certify?
Q. What is CCI’s relationship to the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN)?
Q. What is CCI’s role as consultants? Q. Is a BSN required to take the CNOR exam?
Q. When is the deadline to apply for the CNOR exam?
Q. How can I get proof I paid the CNOR exam fee so I can be reimbursed by my employer?
Q. How can I take the CNOR exam if I'm stationed overseas in the military?
Q. What should I study to prepare for the CNOR exam?
Q. Although I've worked in the operating room as an RN for twenty years in the Philippines, I have only six months experience in that role in the United States. Am I still eligible to take the CNOR exam?
Q. How is the CNOR exam scored?
Q. When will I receive my scores?
Q. If I lose my official score report from the testing agency, can I request a new one?
Q. If I take the exam by computer, do I have to answer all the questions?
Q. Once I've answered a question, can I go back and change my answer?
Q. How much does does the CNOR exam cost?
Q. Can I transfer my application and fee if I decide not to take the exam in the testing window I selected?
Q. If I lose my wallet card or certificate, how can I get a new one? Q. What is CNOR(E)?


Q. Do I have to be an AORN member to be certified through CCI?
A. No. AORN membership is not a pre-requisite to sit for the CNOR or CRNFA exams. AORN members do receive a discount on the examination fees. .

Q. How can I prepare for the examinations?
A. CCI offers a variety of resources to help candidates prepare for the CNOR and CRNFA examinations including the CNOR and CRNFA Exam Study Guide and Practice Resource, which devotes a chapter to each task the perioperative nurse performs as outlined in the job analysis. CCI also provides the E-Practice Test and a CD-ROM with sample questions. For more information or to order the Study Guide and CD Rom visit www.cc-institute.org Additionally, we recommend reviewing the references in the study bibliography and joining a study group.

Q. Is the CNOR certification only for certain specialties?
A. No. The exam is not written for a single specialty. It covers general knowledge for working in the perioperative area.

Q. Why is certification important for Registered Nurses?
A. Certification reflects the nurse’s leadership within the surgical and healthcare communities. It also recognizes a nurse who is proficient in practice. The credential is a personal commitment to identified standards that inspires credibility and confidence with patients and peers in the workplace..

Q. Why should hospitals hire certified perioperative nurses?
A. Hospital administrators play a key role in establishing standards of excellence and are responsible for building relationships with patients, healthcare professionals, and the community. A staff of credentialed, educated professionals is seen as both a necessity and a commitment to patient safety and quality patient care.
Certification:

• Provides evidence of personal, professional commitment.
• Provides evidence of personal, professional commitment.
• Increases patient’s confidence in the care that they receive.
• Helps nurses feel confident in their clinical abilities.

CCI has conducted extensive research on the value of certification. For more information on the outcomes of this research, click here.


Q. What resources does CCI offer hospitals and healthcare facilities?
A. CCI offers many resources to help hospitals and healthcare facilities promote certification to their perioperative nursing staff including discounts for groups who want to test together. CCI also has a variety of other professional development tools available. Our Competency Assessment Module series is designed for staff development professionals to assess the competency of nurses, surgical technicians and others in the surgical setting in nine general areas, with more in development. CCI also offers study guides, e-practice exams and pharmacological resource guides. For more information on these resources visit the Study materials section of www.cc-institute.org.

Q. When should nurses start thinking about certification?
A. Nurses should begin thinking and preparing for the CNOR examination immediately. The exam requires two years and 2400 hours as a perioperative nurse.

Q. Do certified nurses receive higher salaries?
A. In some cases, CNORs receive higher pay for achieving their credential, but not always. Feedback from thousands of CNORs and CRNFAs indicates that most nurses seek the credential for professional recognition and to fulfill a commitment to continued learning.

Q. What is the job outlook for CNORs and CRNFAs?
A. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, job opportunities for registered nurses in all specialties are expected to be excellent. Thousands of job openings also will result from the need to replace experienced nurses who leave the occupation, especially as the median age of the registered nurse population continues to rise.

Q. Should nurse managers and administrators encourage their staff to seek certification?
A. The nurse managers and administrators play a pivotal role in the certification process. They can encourage, support, and even require that the nursing staff is certified. A nurse manager often serves as a mentor to nurses seeking certification.

Q. How does CCI verify that its certification program is fair, accurate and represents current standards of perioperative practice?
A. CCI builds in many checks and balances into the exam development process to ensure it is fair and both the questions and answers are accurate. CCI complies with the standards developed by the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS) and the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). Both the CNOR and the CRNFA exams have been accredited by these independent accrediting bodies.
Accreditation requires that CCI update its job analysis study at least every five years. Additionally, every test question must have a valid published reference no older than five years.

Q. How does CCI support certifcants?
A. CCI supports the professional development of perioperative nurses and understands that ongoing education is a reflection of their commitment to their career, to the profession, and to extraordinary patient care. CCI hosts a variety of learning opportunities including conferences and workshops and competency assessment modules.

Q. What is a CCI Champion?
A. The CCI Champions are CNORs and CRNFAs dedicated to promoting professional development, competency in practice, and commitment to patient safety within the surgical and broader healthcare environments. This select group of nurses serves as mentors and educators. They are a central resource for communicating CCI’s credentialing and competency products and services. For more information, click here.

Q. How can I get involved as a volunteer leader for CCI?
A. CCI is always looking for qualified and dedicated volunteers to serve in a variety of capacities within the organization. Interested volunteers should complete a willingness-to-serve form.

Q. How does CCI contribute to the industry?
A. CCI is an active partner with the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and other nursing certification bodies who are members of the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS). CCI has helped to advance the industry by conducting research that validates the value of certification and promotes professional development.

Q. How many nurses does CCI certify?
A. CCI has certified approximately 30,000 nurses. Each year, CCI certifies approximately 2,000 nurses.

Q. What is CCI’s relationship to the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN)?
A. CCI and AORN are separate organizations. Although they share common customers and a shared commitment to patient care and safety, they have separate missions and Boards of Directors. They also make organizations decisions independently.
CCI has an obligation to setting eligibility that is in the best interest of the patient. CCI’s obligation cannot be to both members and patients thus the organizations are independent.

Q. What is CCI’s role as consultants?
A. CCI has credentialing experts available to help develop certification programs or work directly with staff teams to assess existing certification programs' compliance with various accreditation standards. The CCI staff also works with associations to assess and improve a wide range of association management issues.
CCI partners with the many hospitals seeking or maintaining Magnet Recognition Program™ status and provides competency assessment, education, and consulting to create competency-based programs for staff.

Q. Is a BSN required to take the CNOR exam?
A. No. Find out more about CNOR eligibility.

Q. When is the deadline to apply for the CNOR exam?
A. The CNOR exam deadline dates are February 28, 2006; May 31, 2006; August 31, 2006, and November 30, 2006.

Q. How can I get proof I paid the CNOR exam fee so I can be reimbursed by my employer?
A. Call our toll-free number, (888) 257-2667, to request a receipt for your application fee.

Q. How can I take the CNOR exam if I'm stationed overseas in the military?
A. International testing Thomson Prometric testing centers for computer-based testing are now available worldwide for international candidates.

Q. What should I study to prepare for the CNOR exam?
A. CCI publishes the CNOR Exam Study Guide and Practice Resource, which devotes a chapter to each task performed by the operating room nurse as outlined in the job analysis. For more information about our Study Guide and CD Rom or to order them click on: CCI Study materials. Additionally, we recommend checking out the references in the study bibliography as well as joining a study group.

Q. Although I've worked in the operating room as an RN for twenty years in the Philippines, I have only six months experience in that role in the United States. Am I still eligible to take the CNOR exam?
A. Yes, you meet the CNOR eligibility requirements. You needn't have worked the full two years and 2400 hours required for CNOR certification in the United States, as long as you were a licensed RN in the country where you previously practiced.

Q. How is the CNOR exam scored?
A. CCI uses a scaled score method that bases individual scores on the number of correct answers rather than on a percentage of the total. Because the testing service and the computer-based testing organization each independently score and verify CCI test results for accuracy, hand-scoring is not available.

Q. When will I receive my scores?
A. You'll receive a preliminary pass/fail score advisory when you complete your exam. If you pass, you'll receive your certificate and wallet card within four to five weeks after taking the exam. If you don't pass, you'll be notified of your score within the same time period.

Q. If I lose my official score report from the testing agency, can I request a new one?
A. CCI maintains all pass/fail results for everyone who takes the CNOR exam, but we have no copies of the official letter a candidate receives from the testing agency. However, we can send a verification letter of the pass/fair results on CCI letterhead.

Q. If I take the exam by computer, do I have to answer all the questions?
A. Because the CNOR exam is a CBT (computer-based test), it must be taken in its entirety. With a computer-adaptive test (CAT) like the NCLEX exam, you're finished once you've correctly answered the required number of questions.

Q. Once I've answered a question, can I go back and change my answer?
A. Yes, you can mark a question you want to return to later, and you can scroll back through the entire exam. You can find out all about how the computer-based test works in the preexam tutorial at the computer-based testing service.

Q. How much does does the CNOR exam cost?
A. AORN members pay $250; non-AORN members pay $350.

Q. Can I transfer my application and fee if I decide not to take the exam in the testing window I selected?
A. Yes, one time only for a $125 fee you can transfer your application to the next testing window. Find out more about transfers.

Q. If I lose my wallet card or certificate, how can I get a new one?
A. Call CCI toll-free at (888) 257-2667 to request a new wallet card (or certificate) for only $10, or order online.

Q. What is CNOR(E)?
A. It's a retired status certification granted to CNORs who have retired from surgical nursing with no plans to return. Find out more about CNOR(E).