CTRN - Certified Transport Registered Nurse

If you have two years of experience as a ground transport nurse, consider becoming a Certified Transport Registered Nurse (CTRN). This certification is available from the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN) and is an ideal way to demonstrate your skills and knowledge of working in this high-paced unique environment.

Emergency nursing has many components, and ground transport is an essential one. Although there are no hourly requirements for how much experience you should have before taking the CTRN exam, the BCEN recommends a minimum of two years. 

The initial exam costs $370 for non-members. If you need to retake the exam, it is $340. For members of the Air & Surface Transport Nurses Association (ASTNA), fees are reduced to $230 for the initial exam and $200 for retakes. There is also a voucher program available for employers to buy vouchers for employees to take the initial exam, retest, or renew at a discounted rate.

This three-hour exam consists of 155 questions, of which 130 are scored and 25 are unscored. You also get five practice questions to get a feel for what the exam is like before you get started.

There are no prerequisites to taking the CTRN exam. All you need is an active nursing license in good standing, though, again, the BCEN recommends two years of experience working in ground transport.

The first step to registering for the CTRN exam is creating a log-in on the BCEN website.

Then, look under the “My Certifications” section on the left side of the screen and open a new application next to the CTRN logo. Go through the application, answer all of the questions, and then choose your payment method.

After your payment is processed, you will receive an email from BCEN with your exam eligibility information. Once you are approved to take the exam, you have a 90-day testing window in which to schedule.

To schedule your exam, go to the "Schedule/Manage Exam" section of your BCEN account dashboard. It will redirect you to PSI’s website, where you can schedule your exam. Or, you can call PSI at 1 833-518-7459 to schedule by phone.

You have two choices for taking the exam. You can choose to go to a PSI testing center or take the exam at home with a live remote proctor. If you schedule an exam at a testing center, PSI will send you an email with your exam date, time, and the address of the testing center. 

If you wish to sign up for live remote proctoring, the process is very similar—just follow the prompts on the PSI website. Note that you do have to meet certain system requirements to be a good candidate for live remote proctoring.

The CTRN certification period is four years. After that, you must renew your certification. 

There are two ways to recertify. If you want to recertify using CE Attestation, here is the process:

• Complete 100 contact hours within the four-year certification period. 

• Log into your BCEN account and click on the “By CE”, then follow the prompts

Note that all contact hours must be at the nursing practice level, and 75 of them must be clinical content specific to your certification. The remaining 25 can be non-clinical. Also, 50 of the 100 hours must come from an accredited source, like the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Emergency Nurses Association, or Air and Surface Transport Nurses Association, to name a few.

The other way to recertify is to take the CTRN exam again. The process for this is similar. Log into your BCEN account and look under the “recertify” section and choose “By exam”. You will be prompted to schedule your exam through PSI.

Regardless of which method you choose, recertification costs $350 or $210 for members of ASTNA. 

The BCEN has many useful resources on its website, including: 

• A certification checklist

• A content outline of the exam

• Sample test questions 

• A resource for finding review courses in your area

• A candidate handbook

If you work in other areas of emergency nursing, the BCEN has other certifications available as well, including: 

• Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN)

• Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN)

• Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN)

• Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN)

• Burn Nursing Specialty Certification (CBRN)

Other related certifications include:

• NREMT Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT)

• NREMT Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians (AEMT)

• NREMT Paramedic

• ASTNA Transport Professional Advanced Trauma Course (TPATC)