ABPANC: Certification: Practice Exams

The American Board of Perianesthesia Nursing Certification, Inc. (ABPANC) is excited to now offer CPAN® and CAPA® Practice Exams on-line! You can take an on-line practice exam whenever it is convenient for you, using any computer that can connect to the Internet using a Microsoft Internet Explorer ™ browser. The paper/pencil versions of the practice exams are no longer available.

Please note: ABPANC Practice Exams are being hosted on the Professional Examination Service (PES) Computer-based Testing Site in collaboration with TesTrak. PES hosts other organizations’ practice exams as well. Look for the word ABPANC or the ABPANC logo when selecting a practice examination.

ABPANC’s practice exams should be regarded as a tool to assess strengths and weaknesses. They are not intended to serve as a study guide nor should they be used as a substitute for studying. A passing score on a practice exam does not in any way guarantee a passing score on any ABPANC certification exam. Use of a practice exam is not a requirement for eligibility or for success in passing any ABPANC certification exam.

The purpose of a practice exam is to provide you with a simulated (or similar) experience to taking the actual CPAN or CAPA certification examination. You will not be given the correct answer for each item. Just like the real examination experience and like the former paper/pencil versions of the practice exams, you will also not be provided with the rationale for the correct answer. The scoring information that is provided will help guide you to identify further study needs and allow you to assess which domains you may need further study. The practice exam should be used as a tool to assess your level of preparedness for the actual examination. It is not and should not be intended to be a study guide or the sole means of study for the examination.

These practice exams have been developed by CPAN® and CAPA® certified nurses who are content experts, using the same methods used to develop the actual certification exams.

The CPAN® and CAPA® practice exams are each 100 questions in length and have been developed to correlate with the CPAN® and CAPA® exam blueprints. You will be tested on content that falls into the following four domains of perianesthesia patient needs and the nursing knowledge needed to meet those needs:

The content of the practice exams, while representative of the type of questions on the CPAN® or CAPA® certification exams does not necessarily mirror the content that will appear on the actual certification exams.

You may choose the length of time in which you would like to complete a practice exam – 2 hours, which simulates the certification examination experience, or 4 hours, which provides double that amount of time. Each examination must be completed within the time period chosen. You will see an actual “screen time” for the time period you choose. The clock will adjust for any time lost moving from one question to the next.

Please note: If you choose to take either the CPAN or CAPA practice examinations more than once, the questions will be the same as the first time you took it. In other words, there is only one version of each examination. Many individuals choose to take the same examination more than once, particularly if they have not obtained a passing grade in order to have a basis for comparison.

Feedback about your performance on the practice exam will be given. The procedure used to determine the passing score represents a collaborative effort between experts from the ABAPNC Examination Review Committee and professional psychometricians from Professional Examination Service (PES). The passing scores for the CPAN® and CAPA® practice examinations have been set by ABPANC at 450.

Please note: A certain score on the practice exam does not in any way predict or guarantee the same or similar score on any of ABPANC’s actual certification exams. Practice exams can be used to provide an indication of your level or preparation for the actual certification exam, however they cannot be relied on to accurately predict performance on an actual certification exam.

Each practice exam costs $45, payable by credit card. VISA, MasterCard, Discover, Diners, Cart Blanche and American Express are all acceptable for payment.

If you select the 2 hour option to complete a practice exam, you will receive 2 contact hours; if you select the 4 hour option to complete a practice exam, you will receive 4 contact hours.

Once you complete a practice exam, you must complete the Evaluation Form, as instructed, in order to receive contact hours. ABPANC will mail you a Certification of Completion within three weeks of your completion of the practice exam. Click on the appropriate link, as instructed, to complete the Evaluation Form. Once you complete the Evaluation Form, you will be able to return to the score reporting page.

This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (ASPAN), an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

If you are using this activity to earn contact hours for CPAN® and/or CAPA® recertification purposes, this activity applies to Direct Care.

Once you complete a CPAN® or CAPA® practice exam, you will have access to several links as noted below.

How different are the CPAN® and CAPA® practice exams – Can I take both practice exams?

As you will note on the CPAN® and CAPA® exam blueprints, which serve as the basis for the construction of each actual examination as well as the practice exams, the domains of patient needs – Physiological, Behavioral/Cognitive, Safety, and Advocacy, and the nursing knowledge needed to meet those needs - are the same for both the CPAN® and CAPA® certification programs. It is the percentage of questions asked in each domain or category of patient needs that varies, depending on whether the candidate is taking the CPAN® or CAPA® examination.

For added practice, a candidate may desire to take both the CPAN® and CAPA® practice examinations.

You may take a practice exam as often as you like but please note that you must pay the fee of $45 for each practice exam taken.

ABPANC wishes you the best as you prepare for CPAN® and/or CAPA® certification and congratulates you on your interest in taking the next step beyond RN licensure - becoming certified in your specialty! You can be assured that the CPAN® and CAPA® certification programs are of the highest quality, as evidenced by the fact that each program is nationally accredited by the American Board of Nursing Specialties.

Certification

On-Line CPAN® And CAPA® Practice Exams