Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN®): What You Need to Know
Thinking about the next step in your career? The nursing profession offers a wide range of certifications across clinical, managerial, and educational specialties. One of the most respected credentials in emergency care is the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN®).
What Does CEN Mean, and Why Is It Valuable?
A Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN) is a registered nurse officially recognized as having the knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide competent emergency nursing care.
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Nearly 40,000 nurses currently hold the credential.
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Achieving the CEN demonstrates that you’ve met a national standard of excellence in urgent and emergency care.
Why It Matters
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A study of more than 1,000 emergency nurse supervisors found positive relationships between CEN certification and technical performance, accuracy, and ethical behavior.
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80% of nurses with a CEN reported that certification increased their knowledge and confidence on the job.
What Does a CEN Do?
Emergency nurses care for patients in hospital emergency departments and specialized units such as stroke, cardiac, or burn care. Settings range from critical access hospitals to large urban trauma centers.
Common Reasons for ED Visits (CDC, 2017):
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Abdominal pain, cramps, and spasms
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Chest pain
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Fever, cough, and shortness of breath
CENs must be prepared to manage urgent, life-threatening situations across a wide spectrum of conditions.
What Type of Person Becomes a CEN?
Emergency nurses thrive in a fast-paced, constantly changing environment. Essential traits include:
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Technical proficiency in emergency care
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Ability to support patients and families under extreme stress
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Persistence, determination, and decisiveness
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Strong prioritization skills—balancing care for multiple patients at once
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Flexibility with nights, weekends, and holidays, as the emergency department never closes
How Do You Become a CEN?
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Exam format: 175-question, computer-based test administered at a testing center
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Eligibility: Current, unrestricted RN license
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Recommendation: BCEN suggests at least two years of ED experience, though it is not required
Preparing for the Exam
Prepare with Certified Emergency Nurse Q&A Practice, which includes:
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300 practice questions with detailed rationales
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Review by exam category
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Options for a 150-question timed exam or five 30-question mini tests
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A 7-day free trial for new learners
Test-taking tip: Be cautious with absolute terms like “always” or “never” and carefully review all answer choices before selecting one.
Rewarding Work
Emergency nursing can be stressful, with long hours and high-pressure situations. However, the rewards are substantial: CENs make a difference every day by saving lives and improving patient outcomes.
Resources
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Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. (2020, January). BCEN at a Glance. PDF
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Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing. (2018). 5 Compelling Reasons to Get (and Keep) Your Emergency Nursing Specialty Certification. White Paper
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Rui, P., & Kang, K. (2017). National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2017 Emergency Department Summary Tables. CDC Report
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Wojciechowski, M. (2017, November 10). Careers in Nursing: An Interview with Emergency Nurse Angela Fennington. DailyNurse
The Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN®) is the sole owner of the Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN®) certification program. BCEN does not endorse any CEN certification exam review resources or have a proprietary relationship with Springer Publishing Company.
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