CPN Certification: Overview and FAQ

If you’re a pediatric nurse looking for ways to advance your career, earning your Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN) certification could help affirm your skills. This credential validates your expertise in pediatric nursing and your commitment to young patients. What could earning a pediatric nurse credential do for your career? Let’s cover the reasons why you might want this certification and what you can do to earn it.

What Is a Certified Pediatric Nurse?

A CPN is a registered nurse who has specialized knowledge and skills in the care of infants, children, and adolescents. This credential sets CPNs apart from other nurses since only about 30,000 nurses have it. Certified nurses help improve care quality and safety across care settings, and they help hospitals and health systems qualify for Magnet status. Being certified shows that you have the ability to address the unique physical, emotional, and developmental needs of pediatric patients.

Peds nurses use different clinical skills depending on the area in which they work. These include:

• Communicating with patients and family members.
• Providing support and education to caregivers.
• Focused and head-to-toe assessments.
• Collaborating with pediatricians, pediatric surgeons, assistive personnel, and other members of the medical team.
• Administering medications by mouth, IV, intramuscular injection, feeding tubes, and more.
• Technical skills such as blood draws, tracheostomy care, wound management, and more.

Pediatric nurses work in a variety of treatment settings, including the following:

• Acute care medical centers
• Children’s hospitals and cancer centers
• Outpatient clinics
• School health offices
• Community health centers
• Home health care and private duty
• Pediatric intensive care units (PICUs)
• Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs)
• Pediatric rehabilitation centers and post-acute care

Benefits of CPN Certification

Nursing specialty certifications like this one are not a requirement for practice. So why go through the work of earning them? Some of the benefits of this certification include:

• Competitive edge: If you’re applying for a new unit or a leadership position soon, this certification could help — 83% of leaders prefer to hire a CPN over a pediatric nurse without the credential.

• Personal satisfaction: Nurses with this credential are proud to improve care quality for their patients.

• Confidence: 88% of CPN-certified nurses find that this credential enhances their clinical abilities.

• Earning potential: Many hospitals offer incentives and pay differentials for certified nurses. One finding shows that certified RNs earn 9% more than their non-certified colleagues.

• Continuing education: Earning and renewing this credential requires completing continuing education credits, which can also be used towards your RN license renewal.

How to Get CPN Certification: 4 Steps

Ready to make the next step in your pediatric nursing career? Follow the steps below to earn this credential.

Step 1: Complete CPN Certification Requirements

Here’s what you’ll need to qualify for the certification exam:

• A valid and unrestricted RN license in the U.S., Canada, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, or the U.S. Virgin Islands
• At least 1,800 hours of pediatric practice experience within the past two years, or at least 5 years (and 3,000 hours) of RN experience, with at least 1,000 hours within the past 2 years

If you were enrolled in a pediatric new graduate residency program, the time spent in your program can count towards certification. Remember that you don’t have to practice in acute care to qualify — public health, research, school nursing, and consultant work can also contribute to the experience requirements.

Step 2: Apply for Certification

Once you meet the requirements, you can apply for CPN certification online by making an account with the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB). If you can organize a group of other certification-ready nurses on your unit, you may qualify for the No Pass, No Pay benefit. Otherwise, the CPN certification cost list is outlined below:

• Exam: $300 including a nonrefundable registration fee. Members of the Society of Pediatric Nurses get a $45 discount.
• Retest: $245
• Extension: $130

Once you apply and pay the fees online, you’ll receive an approval and scheduling notice when your application is approved. You’ll be assigned a 90-day window to test, so watch out for the email so you can schedule your test within the two-week allotment.

Step 3: Take the Certification Exam

On test day, come prepared 15 minutes early with your ID. You’ll have three hours to complete 175 questions, and 150 of these are scored. After you take the exam, you’ll receive an unofficial pass/fail notification. Official results will arrive by email within two to three weeks. If you pass, your official CPN certification verification will be available for viewing on the PNCB website soon after.

Here’s what’s covered on the test:

• Planning and management
• Assessment
• Health promotion
• Professional responsibilities

Looking for resources as you prepare? The Society of Pediatric Nurses offers online CPN certification programs, courses, and practice quizzes to help you review before the test. You can also use the PNCB’s resources as your CPN certification study guide. These include:

• Exam content outline
• Exam readiness checklist
• Practice exams
• Certification exam tips

Step 4: Maintain Your Credential

Once you earn your initial CPN credential, you’ll need to maintain it via recertification. CPN certification renewal occurs annually between November 1 and January 31. If you miss this deadline, you can still recertify with a late fee between February 1 and 28. Recertification requires the following:

• A current, unencumbered RN license
• 15 contact hours or accepted equivalents
• Completed recertification application
• Recertification fees

Related Certifications

• Basic Life Support (BLS)
• Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
• Critical Care Registered Nurse – Pediatric (CCRN-Pediatric)
• Critical Care Registered Nurse – Neonatal (CCRN-Neonatal)
• Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP)
• S.T.A.B.L.E. certification

Jobs for Nursing Professionals

Looking for other ways to advance your career? Whether or not you’re pursuing CPN certification, we can help with your job search. IntelyCare matches qualified nursing professionals with roles that suit their skills and schedule. Learn more with personalized job notifications.