Free study resources

One-Pagers

One-page summaries of the topics exams test most, checked against current guidelines.

Exam guides

• CCRN (Adult) Exam GuideFormat, the November 2025 test plan, eligibility and an 8-week study plan
• PCCN Exam GuideFormat, test plan, eligibility and an 8-week study plan for AACN's progressive care exam
• CMC Exam GuideFormat, the November 2026 test plan, eligibility and an 8-week plan for AACN's cardiac medicine subspecialty exam
• CSC Exam GuideFormat, blueprint, eligibility and an 8-week plan for AACN's Cardiac Surgery subspecialty exam
• ACLS Course Exam GuideThe AHA ACLS Provider written exam and Megacode under the 2025 course materials: format, content, eligibility, an 8-week plan and test-day tips
• NBRC Respiratory Therapy Exam GuideThe 2027 RT exam: format, content outline, eligibility, the TMC and CSE transition, and an 8-week study plan
• CEN Exam GuideBCEN Certified Emergency Nurse: format, the July 2026 outline, eligibility and an 8-week plan

Cardiovascular & Hemodynamics

• Hemodynamic NormalsNormal adult values, key formulas and how to read the waveforms behind them
• Shock Types at a GlanceHemodynamic patterns, exam findings and first treatments for each shock type
• Vasopressors and InotropesReceptors, doses, SSC 2026 septic shock order, push-dose pressors and extravasation
• ACS and STEMITerritories, time goals, first drugs and complications
• Heart FailureHFrEF vs HFpEF, stages, GDMT pillars, warm/cold profiles, shock and diuretics
• Right Heart Failure and Pulmonary HypertensionRV physiology, recognition, PH groups, ICU causes, drugs, intubation risk and mechanical support
• Pericarditis, Effusion and TamponadeDiagnosis, ECG vs STEMI, colchicine and recurrence, tamponade signs and drainage, postoperative and post-MI syndromes
• Endocarditis and Valve EmergenciesDuke-ISCVID and ESC 2023 diagnosis, antibiotics, surgery and complications; bedside goals for acute valve lesions
• After Cardiac SurgeryCSC focus: bleeding, tamponade, shock states, POAF, pacing and CSU-ALS
• Aortic Dissection and Hypertensive EmergencyStanford types, heart rate and BP targets, BP goals by condition and IV antihypertensives
• Peripheral Vascular EmergenciesAcute limb ischemia, grafts and access sites, carotid procedures, DVT and PICC clots, VTE prevention, arterial vs venous care, compression stockings, Buerger and Raynaud
• Rhythm Gallery21 drawn strips: how to name each rhythm and the first move exams expect
• BLS, High-Quality CPR and ChokingRecognition, compressions, breaths and AED for adults, children and infants, choking relief, special cases and team roles (2025)
• ACLS Algorithms in Brief2025 AHA adult arrest, bradycardia, tachycardia and post-ROSC steps on one page
• Temporary PacingTranscutaneous, transvenous and epicardial pacing: settings, thresholds and troubleshooting
• Implanted Cardiac Devices: Pacemakers, ICDs and Wearable DefibrillatorsPacemaker codes and failures, ICD shocks, S-ICD and WCD limits, magnets, cautery and MRI, and discharge teaching
• Arterial Line: Waveforms, Square-Wave Test and Nursing CareNormal waveform, damping and the fast-flush test, leveling and zeroing, MAP vs systolic, complications and site care
• Swan-Ganz (PA Catheter): Waveforms, Wedge and Normal ValuesNormal pressures and flows, insertion waveforms RA to wedge, safe wedging, end-expiration reads, complications and shock profiles
• Post-Cardiac Arrest Care and Temperature ControlThe ROSC bundle: oxygen, ventilation and MAP targets, 12-lead and cath lab, temperature control, seizures, glucose and when to prognosticate

Mechanical Circulatory Support

• IABP ManagementCounterpulsation, triggers, the four timing errors, nursing care and weaning
• Impella Heart PumpMicroaxial pumps for shock and high-risk PCI: signals, purge, alarms, care
• ECMO EssentialsVA vs VV, the circuit, monitoring, troubleshooting and ECPR for CCRN, CMC, CSC and transport exams
• LVAD BasicsHeartMate 3 parameters, alarms, complications, anticoagulation and arrest care for critical care and transport exams

Respiratory & Airway

• ABG Interpretation in 6 StepspH, PaCO₂, HCO₃⁻, compensation, anion gap and oxygenation, with worked examples
• Ventilator Modes and SettingsModes, lung-protective targets, peak vs plateau, alarms and SBT readiness
• ARDSBerlin and Global definitions, lung-protective ventilation, PEEP, proning, paralysis, steroids, ECMO and the nursing care
• Ventilator Liberation and TracheostomySAT and SBT, cuff leak and steroids, HFNC or NIV after extubation, stridor, trach care and NTSP emergencies
• Pulmonary EmbolismESC 2019 and AHA/ACC 2026 risk classes, diagnosis, anticoagulation, lysis, catheter therapy and RV support
• Asthma and COPD ExacerbationsSeverity signs, first treatments, oxygen targets, NIV and ventilating obstructive lungs
• Chest Tubes and PneumothoraxTension pneumothorax, the drainage system, bubbling and tidaling, troubleshooting and removal
• CapnographyNormal values, waveform patterns, CPR and ROSC, tube checks and sedation monitoring
• Airway and RSIAssessment, adjuncts, RSI drugs, failed airway, tube checks, DOPE, pediatric tubes
• PFTs and Oxygen DeliverySpirometry, DLCO, oxygen devices, COPD targets and aerosols
• Aerosol Drugs and HumidityHumidifiers and HMEs, choosing a nebulizer, mucoactive and inhaled anti-infective drugs, sequence and stopping rules
• Airway Clearance and SuctioningChoosing a technique, postural drainage, PEP and oscillation, cough assist, and suction catheter size, pressure and time
• Sleep Medicine and Chronic Lung CareGOLD and GINA step-up and step-down, CF care, rehab and quitting, home oxygen, sleep studies, PAP troubleshooting and central apnea
• Equipment, Gas Supply and Patient DataCylinders, meters, blenders, analyzers, reprocessing and blood gas QC; chest films, bedside findings, oximetry limits, MIP and stress index

Sepsis, Renal & Metabolic

• Sepsis and Septic Shock BundleSepsis-3 definitions, the Hour-1 bundle and SSC 2026 changes for exam review
• Preventing ICU InfectionsCLABSI, CAUTI, VAE, C. difficile and MDRO bundles, isolation by organism, hand hygiene and quality measures
• Acute Kidney InjuryKDIGO staging, causes, urine studies, nephrotoxins, prevention, dialysis timing and nursing care for critical care exams
• Electrolyte ImbalancesNa, K, Ca, Mg and phos: normals, ECG clues, safe replacement, hyperkalemia steps
• CRRT (Continuous Renal Replacement)Modes, dose, circuit pressures, citrate and nursing care for critical care exams
• DKA and HHS2024 consensus criteria, treatment order, potassium, euglycemic DKA and monitoring
• Endocrine EmergenciesThyroid storm, myxedema coma, adrenal crisis, and SIADH vs salt wasting vs DI
• ICU Nutrition and RefeedingWhen to feed, first-week targets, PN timing, tube checks, residuals, diarrhea and refeeding syndrome
• Blood Products and TransfusionComponents, triggers, compatibility, reactions, massive transfusion, reversal
• Bleeding, Reversal, HIT and DICAnticoagulant reversal, the 4Ts and HIT care, DIC and TTP for critical care exams
• Oncologic EmergenciesNeutropenic fever, tumor lysis, hypercalcemia, cord and SVC compression, leukemic crises, CAR-T and checkpoint toxicity
• GI Bleeding, Liver Failure and PancreatitisUpper GI and variceal bleeding, encephalopathy, SBP, acute liver failure and pancreatitis
• Acute Abdomen and GI Surgical EmergenciesObstruction and NG decompression, ileus and Ogilvie, mesenteric ischemia, perforation, Whipple and bariatric leaks, dumping and Fournier gangrene

Neuro, Sedation & Toxicology

• Neuro: ICP and StrokeICP, herniation, EVD care, osmotics, GCS, stroke and seizures
• Subarachnoid HemorrhageAneurysmal SAH: diagnosis, grading, rebleeding, nimodipine, vasospasm and DCI, sodium and nursing care
• Meningitis and EncephalitisFirst-hour care, empiric antibiotics, dexamethasone, CT before LP, CSF patterns, HSV and autoimmune encephalitis, isolation and ICU complications
• Myasthenic Crisis and Guillain-Barré SyndromeNeuromuscular respiratory failure, NIV or intubation, IVIG and plasma exchange, crisis drugs and ICU care
• Sedation, Pain and Delirium ScalesRASS, CPOT, BPS, CAM-ICU, ICDSC, SAT/SBT, and PADIS 2018 with the 2025 update
• Toxidromes and AntidotesToxidromes, antidotes and decontamination for exam review
• Mental Health: Meds and CommunicationPsychotropic classes, serotonin syndrome vs NMS, therapeutic communication, suicide safety, restraints and alcohol withdrawal
• End of Life, Brain Death and Organ DonationFamily meetings, surrogates, code status, comfort-focused withdrawal, 2023 brain death criteria and donation

Professional Practice

• Professional Caring and Ethical PracticeAACN Synergy Model, ethics and moral distress, consent and capacity, team communication, delegation, safety culture, evidence-based practice, teaching and response to diversity
• ICU Report Sheet: SBAR Brain Sheet for NursesA printable system-by-system report layout, how to give SBAR handoff in the ICU, and what to check together at the bedside

Trauma & Emergency

• Trauma: Primary and Secondary SurveyxABCDE priorities, hemorrhage control, shock classes, damage control resuscitation and chest injuries for trauma exams
• BurnsBurn depth, TBSA, fluid resuscitation, inhalation injury, special burns and ABA referral criteria for exam review
• Hypothermia, Heat Stroke and DrowningSwiss staging, rewarming and hypothermic arrest, cooling heat stroke, drowning and frostbite for emergency and critical care exams
• ED Triage and ESIESI v5, resources, high-risk vital signs, MCI triage and EMTALA for CEN review
• Spinal Motion RestrictionSelective SMR, technique, penetrating trauma, children and cord injury, for EMT, paramedic and CEN
• Mass Casualty Triage and Incident CommandSTART, JumpSTART, SALT, the 2021 field triage guideline, ICS and EMS MCI roles, hazmat zones, PPE, decon and refusal, for EMT, paramedic and CEN
• CEN: HEENT EmergenciesEye trauma and sudden vision loss, cornea, orbital infection, nosebleeds, ear and nose foreign bodies, teeth and jaw, facial fractures, deep neck infections
• CEN: Musculoskeletal and Wound EmergenciesCompartment syndrome, fractures and dislocations, crush and fat embolism, amputation, tetanus, bites, wound closure, soft-tissue infection and hot joints for the CEN
• Forensics, Abuse and Sexual Assault in the EDTrauma-informed interviewing, documentation, child and elder abuse, intimate partner violence and strangulation, trafficking, sexual assault care and prophylaxis, mandatory reporting
• CEN: Bites, Exposures and Wound CarePit viper and coral snake envenomation, which animal bites carry rabies risk, macaque B virus, community needlesticks, foreign bodies and fishhooks, diabetic foot punctures, fingertips and replantation, and what the Braden scale scores
• CEN Mental Health: Crisis, Suicide Risk, Eating Disorders and AbuseThe suicide screen and one-to-one observation, eating disorders and their medical dangers, panic look-alikes, crisis and acute stress, staff after a child's death, and abuse the ED must not miss
• CEN: ED Safety, Disaster and Toxic ExposuresFire evacuation, active shooter, workplace violence reporting, chlorine, phosgene and carbon monoxide, smallpox, Legionella, breath-hold blackout and evidence packaging
• CEN Adult Medical Pearls: Neuro, GI and Respiratory Look-alikesDrug-induced delirium, valproate hyperammonemia, myasthenia at the bedside, lumbar puncture care, antiplatelet head bleeds, open depressed fractures, meningococcal contacts in pregnancy, food impaction, acalculous cholecystitis, Grey Turner sign, sump tubes and pneumonia that hides
• CEN: Uterine Bleeding, Kidney Stones and Deep Neck InfectionsAcute heavy uterine bleeding, adolescents and von Willebrand disease, postmenopausal bleeding, the normal urinalysis and uric acid stones, Lemierre syndrome, descending mediastinitis, the pulsatile neck "abscess", drug-induced angle closure and the locked jaw

Skin & Wounds

• Pressure Injury Staging and Wound CareStaging in plain words, prevention, wound assessment, dressings by wound bed, healing, drains and wound vacuums, dehiscence and infection

Maternity & Pediatrics

• Obstetric EmergenciesPPH, preeclampsia and eclampsia, late-pregnancy bleeding, delivery emergencies and maternal arrest
• CEN: Genitourinary, Gynecologic and Early-Pregnancy EmergenciesEctopic pregnancy and hCG logic, early pregnancy loss, Rh, hyperemesis, adnexal torsion, ruptured cyst, PID, the acute scrotum, priapism, Fournier gangrene, stones, retention and UTI
• Newborn Care and ResuscitationApgar, NRP 9th edition steps, SpO2 targets and newborn vital signs for exam review
• Pediatric Assessment and EmergenciesPAT, vital signs, airway infections, febrile seizures, dehydration, arrest, choking and abuse
• CEN Pediatric Emergencies: Ingestions, GI, Head Injury and FracturesFebrile and jaundiced neonates, toddler ethanol and cannabis ingestions, swallowed coins, magnets and sharp objects, intussusception, volvulus, Hirschsprung enterocolitis, PECARN and return to play, stridor that is not croup, sickle cell fever, SCFE, growth-plate and toddler fractures
• Neonatal and Pediatric Respiratory CareNewborn lung disorders, NICU oxygen targets, CPAP and surfactant, oscillation, oxygenation index, tube and suction sizes