The Pediatric Nursing Certification exam is designed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to measure the most essential day-to-day skills and knowledge needed to excel in a career as a pediatric nurse. If you pass the exam, you will be awarded the PED-BC credential.
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To be eligible for the exam, you must meet all of the following requirements:
The Pediatric Nursing exam contains 150 multiple-choice questions, 25 of which are unscored, and you will be given a time limit of 3 hours. The unscored questions are used by ANCC to evaluate questions for future versions of the exam.
The exam is split into three content domains, and each domain contains some number of knowledge questions and skill questions:
The questions in this domain test your skills pertaining to physical and psychosocial assessments, diagnostic specimen collection, and medication and treatment reconciliation. You will also be tested on your knowledge of the following:
The questions in this domain test your knowledge of treatment interactions, quality improvement measures, and responses to interventions. You will also be tested on your skills in the following areas:
The questions in this domain test your skills pertaining to teaching methods, learning evaluation, and therapeutic communication techniques. You will also be tested on your knowledge of the following:
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Registering for and scheduling your Pediatric Nursing exam can be done online. You must first submit an application, and you receive authorization to test once the application has been approved.
The cost of the examination differs depending on your membership status:
| Membership | Exam Fee |
|---|---|
| ANA member | $295 |
| SPN member | $340 |
| Non-member | $395 |
On the day of your appointment, you should arrive at the testing center 30 minutes before the exam is scheduled to begin. When you arrive, you will be asked to provide two forms of identification, one of which must be a government-issued photo ID.
Personal items (cell phones, coats, wallets, food/drink, notes, etc.) are not allowed in the testing area. You will be asked to leave them in a secured locker before the exam begins.
Once the check-in process is complete, you will be led to your testing station and given a short tutorial on the testing system before beginning your exam.
The scores for this exam are calculated using a criterion-based scoring system. This means that a panel of ANCC subject-matter experts has evaluated the questions and determined a passing score. The passing score is set using the modified-Angoff method, which means that your score is based solely on your performance.
Your score is reported on a scale of 1 to 500, and you must get a score of at least 350 to pass the exam.
You will be able to see your preliminary scores as soon as you complete the exam, and your final score report will be made available via your ANCC account.
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