PNCB certification covering the care of infants, children, and adolescents across the health-illness continuum.
Who it's for
Registered nurses with clinical experience caring for pediatric patients in inpatient, outpatient, or primary care settings — PNCB built the CPN as a broad generalist credential covering the full span of childhood, from infancy through adolescence.
What's covered
- Assessment — 35%
- Planning and management — 33%
- Health promotion — 23%
- Professional responsibilities — 9%
What to expect
Expect assessment- and management-focused clinical scenarios, since those two domains alone make up roughly two-thirds of the scored exam — pure recall questions are a minority of what you'll see.
How to prepare
PNCB sells an official practice exam and study plan through its PNCB U platform, and the free PNCB detailed content outline doubles as a study syllabus; because recertification is annual (not multi-year like most nursing credentials), many candidates treat CPN prep as an ongoing habit rather than a one-time cram.