Cardiac Medicine Certification is a subspecialty offered by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. It offers the Registered Nurse certification and specialization to practice in any setting in which there will be patients requiring specialized cardiac care. This can include an ICU or CCU ward, an Interventional Cardiology practice, a heart failure ward, and others.
In order to take the Cardiac Medicine Certification exam, the applicant must be a licensed Registered Nurse or ARNP. The practitioner must also hold current certification as a critical care specialist. A minimum of 1,750 hours of providing direct patient care to cardiac patients must have been completed within the 2 years prior to application. At least 875 of those hours should have been completed within the past year.
The Cardiac Medicine Certification exam is offered year-round to Registered Nurses and ARNPs at multiple sites across the United States. The cost to take the CMC exam is $135 for members of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) and $180 for non-members.
The CMC exam must be completed within 2 hours and it consists of 90 multiple-choice questions. Over one-half of the Cardiac Medicine Certification exam consists of questions testing the RN or ARNP’s knowledge in specific cardiac or cardiac-related conditions, i.e., acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, cardiac dysrhythmias.
The balance of the CMC exam consists of questions regarding the nursing interventions used to treat these patients and the specific monitoring systems available to affectively assess patients with acute cardiac conditions.
The Cardiac Medicine Certification is valid for 3 years. The RN or ARNP who wishes to renew their certification must have spent at least 432 hours during the 3-year period providing direct patient care to patients with acute cardiac disease. In addition, at least 25 hours of continuing education hours pertaining to cardiac care must be completed or the RN or ARNP can retake the CMC examination.