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CEN Review Manual, 2nd ed
Media Reviews
CEN Review Manual, 2nd ed. Newberry L. Park Ridge (IL): Emergency Nurses Association, 1996, 327 pp, $34 member, $40 nonmember, ISBN 0-935890-00-9. Certification as an emergency nurse can be an important professional accomplishment and in some cases is a job requirement to obtain or retain a position in the challenging health care environment of the new millennium. This second edition of the CEN Review Manual contains all new questions. The primary focus of this text continues to be preparation for the CEN examination. The biggest change in the manual is the addition of a practice examination, which can be completed and returned to ENA for continuing education credit hours. The major advantage of this practice examination text is that users can evaluate their performance in a simulated testing environment. For anyone who has experienced test anxiety, this benefit can be huge. This edition of CEN Review Manual contains chapters on test preparation, test blueprint, and nursing process/diagnosis. These chapters can be especially helpful to the first-time test taker, who can be intimidated by the entire test-taking process. The manual is organized by content areas of the CEN examination, which includes clinical pathophysiology by system, patient care management, environmental emergencies and toxicology, shock/multi-system trauma, and medical and professional issues. The basic format of questions, answers, and rationale has changed somewhat. Each chapter contains 2 sections. The first section contains a series of questions, and the second section contains the rationale for each question along with references to support these rationales. This manual is very user friendly. What appealed to me the most was that the majority of chapters were of a reasonable size, so that one could sit down and work through most of them in 30- to 60-minute increments. Some chapters certainly took longer to review, and other chapters could be reviewed more quickly, which allows pacing of a realistic study program. Of course, every learner is different, as is her or his knowledge level in specific subject areas. J Emerg Nurs 1999;25:148-9. Copyright © 1999 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/99 $8.00 + 0 18/9/96413
148 Volume 25, Number 2
The editors recommended joining a study group or taking a formal CEN review course, which assists in retaining the knowledge. This text is comprehensive, with an extensive list of references for each rationale. If users follow a sensible study schedule, CEN Review Manual should prepare them to pass the examination from a didactic standpoint. As mentioned earlier, using the practice examination should give users a picture of how well prepared they are to sit for the examination. The ultimate test of this text is, “Does it work?” Feedback from the “trenches” is, “This is a definitive text to use when preparing for the CEN exam.”—PB Mosby’s Emergency Nursing Reference. Kidd P, Sturt P, eds. St. Louis: Mosby, 1996, 880 pp, $35.95, ISBN 0-8151-5226-4. This comprehensive, pocket-sized resource, written and edited by emergency nurses, is a “must-have” for health care professionals in the emergency setting. Within its covers lies information useful every minute by those responsible for making lightning-fast decisions while providing essential patient care under chaotic circumstances. The authors have captured essential information and deleted information that is nonessential—exactly what emergency nurses need when making decisions. Taking a few minutes to become oriented to the organization of the book is well worth the reader’s time and effort. The text is divided into 3 key areas: Reference Guide, Clinical Conditions, and Procedures. These key areas are further organized by alphabetical order, which makes finding information remarkably easy when time is limited. The book is constructed in a durable fashion with a water-resistant cover and endures its constant use quite well. The text is composed of a variety of writing styles, including short concise narratives, outlines, charts, illustrations, and highlighted areas to draw the reader’s attention to key areas. This book is an essential resource tool for any health care professional who is involved in patient assessment and prioritization of care, from prehospital care to nursing student to bedside nurse, and provides valuable information on a vast number of topics. Mosby’s Emergency Nursing Reference provides the reader with essential information to care for every aspect of the patient. More than just a description of the disease or
CEN Review Manual, 2nd ed. Newberry L. Park Ridge (IL): Emergency Nurses Association, 1996, 327 pp, $34 member, $40 nonmember, ISBN 0-935890-00-9. Certification as an emergency nurse can be an important professional accomplishment and in some cases is a job requirement to obtain or retain a position in the challenging health care environment of the new millennium. This second edition of the CEN Review Manual contains all new questions. The primary focus of this text continues to be preparation for the CEN examination. The biggest change in the manual is the addition of a practice examination, which can be completed and returned to ENA for continuing education credit hours. The major advantage of this practice examination text is that users can evaluate their performance in a simulated testing environment. For anyone who has experienced test anxiety, this benefit can be huge. This edition of CEN Review Manual contains chapters on test preparation, test blueprint, and nursing process/diagnosis. These chapters can be especially helpful to the first-time test taker, who can be intimidated by the entire test-taking process. The manual is organized by content areas of the CEN examination, which includes clinical pathophysiology by system, patient care management, environmental emergencies and toxicology, shock/multi-system trauma, and medical and professional issues. The basic format of questions, answers, and rationale has changed somewhat. Each chapter contains 2 sections. The first section contains a series of questions, and the second section contains the rationale for each question along with references to support these rationales. This manual is very user friendly. What appealed to me the most was that the majority of chapters were of a reasonable size, so that one could sit down and work through most of them in 30- to 60-minute increments. Some chapters certainly took longer to review, and other chapters could be reviewed more quickly, which allows pacing of a realistic study program. Of course, every learner is different, as is her or his knowledge level in specific subject areas. J Emerg Nurs 1999;25:148-9. Copyright © 1999 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/99 $8.00 + 0 18/9/96413
148 Volume 25, Number 2
The editors recommended joining a study group or taking a formal CEN review course, which assists in retaining the knowledge. This text is comprehensive, with an extensive list of references for each rationale. If users follow a sensible study schedule, CEN Review Manual should prepare them to pass the examination from a didactic standpoint. As mentioned earlier, using the practice examination should give users a picture of how well prepared they are to sit for the examination. The ultimate test of this text is, “Does it work?” Feedback from the “trenches” is, “This is a definitive text to use when preparing for the CEN exam.”—PB Mosby’s Emergency Nursing Reference. Kidd P, Sturt P, eds. St. Louis: Mosby, 1996, 880 pp, $35.95, ISBN 0-8151-5226-4. This comprehensive, pocket-sized resource, written and edited by emergency nurses, is a “must-have” for health care professionals in the emergency setting. Within its covers lies information useful every minute by those responsible for making lightning-fast decisions while providing essential patient care under chaotic circumstances. The authors have captured essential information and deleted information that is nonessential—exactly what emergency nurses need when making decisions. Taking a few minutes to become oriented to the organization of the book is well worth the reader’s time and effort. The text is divided into 3 key areas: Reference Guide, Clinical Conditions, and Procedures. These key areas are further organized by alphabetical order, which makes finding information remarkably easy when time is limited. The book is constructed in a durable fashion with a water-resistant cover and endures its constant use quite well. The text is composed of a variety of writing styles, including short concise narratives, outlines, charts, illustrations, and highlighted areas to draw the reader’s attention to key areas. This book is an essential resource tool for any health care professional who is involved in patient assessment and prioritization of care, from prehospital care to nursing student to bedside nurse, and provides valuable information on a vast number of topics. Mosby’s Emergency Nursing Reference provides the reader with essential information to care for every aspect of the patient. More than just a description of the disease or