Paula, understand that no one who does exam prep has any idea what is on the exam. I do know that there are three forms of the exam and a candidate could get any one of them since they are randomly assigned by the testing company. I also know that there are 200 total questions on the exam, 175 are scored and 25 are pretest questions that are not scored. There are also a number of "equator questions", questions that are on all three forms so the testing company can determine test equality, meaning all three test forms are equated through a set of questions that are common to all three forms.
So basically what I am saying is that we can't tell you what to study, because we don't know what is on the exam. I always tell people to start with the test blueprint which is in the Handbook. https://www.nbcsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/nbcsn-handbook-2022a-7-22-Cert-and-Recert.pdf on pages 16-19. This will help you know what you need to study.
I have also copied part of the Eligibility Page below, I think that will be helpful to you also. See where you stand on that list, it will help you to define any weaknesses. One big tip that I can give you is that many people score lower on the Special Health Issues and Professional Issues domains than on the other domains. Since the score takes into account all the domains if you score poorly on both of those domains, and only moderately on one of the others there is a possibility that you won't pass.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
ELIGIBILITY VERSUS READINESS TO TAKE THE EXAM
The NBCSN board advises that eligibility should not be confused with readiness. While some school nurses may be prepared to take the exam after meeting the minimum eligibility criteria, others may require more clinical experience and exam preparation.
Please see the exam preparation page for suggested approaches to studying. Factors that may affect an individual's readiness include:
· level of education
· formal coursework in school nursing and education systems
· nursing experience prior to school nursing (e.g., child and adolescent primary care and public health versus adult inpatient nursing)
· exposure to child health in age ranges outside of school assignment
· continuing education
· supervision by a school nurse administrator
· on the job reference materials
· formal or informal mentoring
· professional development and professional leadership provided within the school district and state.
Regards,
Pat
Pat Krin, MSN, MSCP, RN, FNP-BC, Ret. NCSN-E, FNASN
Executive Director
National Board for Certification of School Nurses
mailto:nbcsnexec@nbcsn.org