ABPANC NEWS TO SHARE

Fall 2011

As of August 1, 2011, there are a total of 9,518 CPAN® and CAPA® certified nurses; 5,832 CPAN® certified nurses and 3,686 CAPA® certified nurses. 429 of these individuals are dually certified. This represents a total growth of 5% over last year at this same time. Kudos to those perianesthesia nurses who have taken the step beyond licensure – to become certified!

New Information

  • ABPANC’s Board of Directors and their assignment to the ASPAN Regions for July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 are:

Kathy Paskewitz, RN, CPAN, President

Deirdre Gage Cronin, BSN, RN, CPAN, CAPA, President- Elect

Teresa Emmons, MSN, RN, CPAN, Secretary/Treasurer – ABPANC Representative for Region 3

Patricia Bouchard, RN, CAPA - ABPANC Representative for Region 4

Rebecca Annette Brancati, RN, CPAN, Director - ABPANC Representative for Region 4

Cheryl Coleman, BSN, RN, CPAN - ABPANC Representative for Region 1

Paulette Corbin, Public Member

Anthony Pridemore, BSN, RN, CPAN - ABPANC Representative for Region 5

Alisa Shackelford, RN, MBA, MA, BSS, BSN, CCRN, CAPA - ABPANC Representative for Region 2

Laura Williams, MSN, RN, CPAN, Director - ABPANC Representative for Region 3

Chris Price, MSN, RN, CPAN, CAPA, ASPAN President and Bonnie Niebuhr, MS, RN, CAE, ABPANC Chief Executive Officer both serve as Ex-Officio Members of the ABPANC Board.

•Be informed when selecting a review course or certification program! There are many review courses available, some by not so reputable providers. When deciding what review course to take, be sure to compare the content being offered to the CPAN® and CAPA® test blueprints. Many claim to prepare nurses for specific specialty exams, but the content does not match our test blueprints. In addition, identify whether the course has been approved by an approved provider for contact hours. Regarding groups or organizations offering a “certification” program - To ensure that you are taking a nationally recognized, legally defensible, valid and reliable certification examination – the first question to ask is – “Is this certification program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC) or the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)? Accreditation by these two bodies ensures that a certification program meets 18 rigorous standards in the certification industry. The CPAN® and CAPA® programs are accredited by ABSNC. Another distinction is the difference between a certificate program and a national certification program. To read more about the differences, visit click on Resources Tab, and click on the link - Defining Features of Quality Certification and Assessment-Based Certificate Programs - A paper published by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE).

  • ABPANC seeks nominations for its Board of Directors! Visit for information about the leadership positions available on the ABPANC Board of Directors! Electronic Postmark Deadlines for receipt of nominations and written material:

October 31Nominations are due – include name, phone number, and email

November 30Nominees must declare intent and submit all required written material as described in the Nominations Booklet

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Philip Godlewski, ABPANC Program Associate, at 1-800-6ABPANC and press option 2, or email .

  • Test blueprints are changing effective with the Fall 2012CPAN® and CAPA® examination administrations!

Based on the findings of the 2010-2011 RDS, the CPAN® and CAPA® test blueprints, beginning with the Fall 2012 exams, the exams will focus on three domains of perianesthesia patient needs rather than the four that are in place now. The three domains of patient needs will be Physiological Needs, Behavior/Cognitive Needs, and Safety Needs. Advocacy Needs has been deleted, however, specific advocacy-related tasks and knowledge will be reflected in the Safety Needs Domain.

The percentage of questions in each of these domains varies depending on whether the candidate is taking the CPAN®or CAPA® examination. The three domains and the percentage of questions that will be allocated to each domain are presented below:

Perianesthesia Patient Needs / Percentage of Examination Questions on Each Exam
Domains of Patient Needs / CPAN® Exam / CAPA® Exam
Physiological Needs / 57% / 49%
Behavior/Cognitive Needs / 20% / 24%
Safety Needs / 23% / 27%

A revised listing of the Tasks required of certified perianesthesia nurses and the Knowledge needed to implement the tasks will be published on the ABPANC website in the near future.

Ongoing Information

• ABPANC’s online Practice Exams (access on ABPANC’s website under Certification tab) are available for perianesthesia nurses studying for the CPAN® and/or CAPA® certification examinations. These practice exams use a methodology for constructing the practice exams, so there are virtually an unlimited number of 50 question practice exams available to take! Please read the information on the website about the practice exams. Each practice exam costs $35, however, as a promotional, now through December 31, 2011, buy one practice exam and get another one free! Contact hours may also be earned. Please note: the practice exams are designed so you can “practice” taking a multiple choice examination. Just like the real exam, you will not be given the answers to questions or the rationale for the correct answer.

  • Due to the extremely small number of hospitals participating in the Group Discount Program through Vouchers, this program has beendiscontinued. Please note: Any vouchers previously purchased and not yet used will be honored.
  • Interested in becoming an ABPANC Coach? Contact Zelda Williams at for information. Go to the click on Get Involved Tab followed by the ABPANC Coaches link to read the job description and qualifications. View the PowerPoint presentation for Coaching Strategies. Examination candidates will benefit from your ability to organize study groups and study timelines, accessing study references, giving psychological support, etc. Consider this role now!

• ABPANC is committed to preserving the environment - being green! All ABPANC documents including the Certification Candidate Handbook, Recertification Handbook and the CertificatioNOW Q&A Brochure are found online at Please take the time to read these very important documents where all of the policies that affect candidates and certificants are included.

• If a CPAN® and/or CAPA® certified nurse is interested in writing examination questions (items) for the certification examinations, go to ABPANC’s website,click on the Get Involved tab, Volunteer Opportunities, and then the Item Writing Link. This is anexcellent way to be a part of the process and to earn free contact hours toward your recertification requirements. Most of the work is done on line.

• ABPANC offers many CPAN® and CAPA® related products – Visit the ABPANC Store, found under the Resources section of the website. A beautiful plaque is available and can be engraved with the names of the CPAN® and CAPA® certified nurses in your unit. CPAN® and CAPA® pins are also available for purchase. What better way to let the patients and their families know that they are being cared for by a certified nurse!

Examination-Related Information

• Reminder - In order for an examination candidate to receive a reduced examination fee of $285 he/she must already be a member of ASPAN when applying online. Whatever name is entered on the online examination application MUST EXACTLY MATCH your name in the ASPAN member database. If the candidate’s name does not match his/her name in the ASPAN database, the candidate must contact ASPAN (877-737-9696) to change the name prior to applying online. Also, the name entered on the examination application MUST EXACTLY MATCH the name on the candidate’s government issued photo ID that will be presented at the Prometric testing center. In other words, your name must be exactly the same in three places: Examination Application/ASPAN member database (if a member), and the government issued photo ID.

Examination Registration & Administration - Dates & Deadlines - Fall 2011 / Spring 2012

Fall 2011 Examination Period / Spring 2012 Examination Period
Registration Window – Online / July 11 – September 5 / January 9 – March 5
Registration Deadline – Online / September 5 by 11:59 p.m. ET / March 5 by 11:59 p.m. ET
Time Period for Scheduling Examination Appt. with Prometric / Upon receipt of your ATT letter through November 10 / Upon receipt of your ATT letter through May 10
Examination Administration Window / October 3 - November 12 / April 2 – May 12
Deadline for Cancelling Appt / 3 business days before scheduled test date / 3 business days before scheduled test date
Postmark deadline for requesting
Withdrawal, refund, rollover from PES / On or before last day of examination administration window / On or before last day of examination administration window

Recertification-Related information

•ABPANC now sends an additional renewal notice one year before a certificant’s credential is due to expire. In total, three renewal notices are now sent!

• The process for recertifying changed beginning with those recertifying in the Fall 2009 and is now done completely online. Those individuals due for recertification must read the Recertification Handbook (available on ABPANC’s website) under the Recertification section. Instructions will be provided in the renewal notice, sent to certificants in July (for the Fall recertification cycle) and December (for the Spring recertification cycle).

• To access the online Recertification System, go to the ABPANC website and click on the link found on the Home Page, under the Get Recertified heading.

• Key points about the changes in the Recertification program include:

• For all certificants who initially certified in the Fall (October or November), the certification period is from October 1 through 11:59 pm October 31 (3 years later). Contact hours must be accrued during this timeframe. Certification status will expire at 12 midnight on November 1.

• For all certificants who initially certified in the Spring (April or May) the certification period is now April 1 through 11:59 pm April 30 (3 years later). Contact hours must be accrued during this timeframe. Certification status will expire at 12 midnight on May 1.

• Unless certificants successfully recertify, credentials expire at the end of three years, at midnight on May 1 or November 1.

• ABPANC has created a new Online Recertification System. Certificants can log in and track their contact hours in the new electronic filing cabinet, update their contact information, receive emails from ABPANC, and complete the recertification process.

• Certificants can create a user account anytime by visiting the ABPANC website and clicking the Create User Account link found on the Home Page under Get Recertified.

• Certificants can enter their contact hours as they earn them by visiting the ABPANC website and clicking the Electronic Filing Cabinet link found on the Home Page under Get Recertified.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUING SUPPORT OF CPAN® AND CAPA® CERTIFICATION!

ABPANC

800-6ABPANC