CCI certification covering perioperative nursing practice across the surgical continuum of care.
Who it's for
Registered nurses with clinical experience in the operating room and perioperative settings — CCI designed CNOR specifically around intraoperative competency, requiring more intraoperative hours than any other perioperative pathway to sit for it.
What's covered
- Patient care and safety — 25%
- Infection prevention and control of environment/instrumentation/supplies — 16%
- Pre/postoperative assessment and diagnosis — 15%
- Communication and documentation — 11%
- Emergency situations — 10%
- Management of personnel, services, and materials — 9%
- Individualized plan of care development — 8%
- Professional accountability — 6%
What to expect
Scoring is pass/no-pass (not a numeric score you see), and questions are written around real OR scenarios spanning all eight content domains — patient safety and infection prevention/instrumentation together make up over 40% of the exam, so expect heavy coverage there.
How to prepare
AORN (Association of periOperative Registered Nurses) is CCI's closest professional-society partner and offers the primary official CNOR review course and practice questions; CCI's own "CNOR Take 2" program offers a reduced-cost, faster retake path if needed.
Certification details
- Certifying body: Competency & Credentialing Institute (CCI).
- Eligibility: Unrestricted RN license and minimum 2 years / 2,400 hours of perioperative experience, with at least 1,200 hours intraoperative (shorter pathway available for CFPN/CST/TS-C holders).
- Exam format: 200 questions, 3 hours 45 minutes, computer-based, pass/no-pass scoring, continuous testing year-round.
- Content outline: Patient Care & Safety (25%), Infection Prevention & Control of Environment/Instrumentation/Supplies (16%), Pre/Postoperative Assessment & Diagnosis (15%), Emergency Situations (10%), Communication & Documentation (11%), Management of Personnel/Services/Materials (9%), Individualized Plan of Care Development (8%), Professional Accountability (6%).
- Fee: $475 (includes first attempt); $175 per retake.
- Recertification: Every 5 years; minimum 500 perioperative practice hours plus 300 points from eligible professional activities.