CHPN Exam
The National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses (NBCHPN) administers the Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse Exam for professionals working in the field of hospice and palliative care, which is a specialty field offering nursing care for the patient and the family with emphasis on overall needs during a fatal illness or bereavement and the nurse works outside of the hospital.
CHPN Exam Eligibility
Candidates must have an unrestricted nurse license and two full time work experiences in hospice and palliative nursing.
CHPN Exam Format & Content
The CHPN Exam is a three hour exam consisting of 150 questions. The exam is held twice a year, in March and September. There are also 15 pretest questions that are not scored.
The content of the CHPN exam is divided into 7 categories:
- Patient care in life limiting conditions in adults-14%
- Patient care-Pain management-25%
- Patient care-symptom management-27%
- Care of patient and their family-11%
- Education and advocacy-9%
- Interdisciplinary/ collaborative practice-8%
- Professional issues-6%
The CHPN Exam also tests skill and ability in answering questions correctly, 30% of the exam requires remembering specific information, 50% of the exam tests the ability to correctly apply knowledge to real life situations, whereas 20% of the exam tests analytical skill to correctly determine an answer.
CHPN Exam Scores
The CHPN Exam is a computer based exam and hence scores are available immediately. The score card indicates pass to successful candidates and a raw and scaled score, content wise to unsuccessful candidates. The raw scores are scaled from 0 to 99 with 75 as the passing score. The total score of the CHPN Exam determines the pass/fail status of the candidate.
CHPN Recertification
The CHPN Certification is valid for four years after which it comes up for recertification. Renewal takes place by sitting for a computer based CHPN exam or through the Registered Nurse Hospice and Palliative Accrual for Recertification (RN HPAR). The RN HPAR requires 100 points of professional development activities over the previous 4 years, collected through continuing education, academic education, publications and volunteer service.
