The CMSRN exam, from the first question to a retake

The 25 pretest questions are not identified, so every question deserves full effort.

With no scheduled break, a restroom trip runs on your exam clock. Bank time in the first hour by answering what you know and flagging the rest.

A scaled score lets MSNCB hold the standard steady across forms of slightly different difficulty. Its website translates the cut into an approximate percent correct, but a percentage on any practice set maps only loosely onto the scale, so aim for a clear margin.

The screen shows pass or fail at the end; the full report lands in your Pearson VUE profile. Download and keep it whether you pass or not; after a fail it is the starting point for planning the retake.

The yearly series is in the table above. The board's statistics page gives the figures, not a cause. Whatever the reason, Nursing Teamwork and Collaboration (21%) and Professional Concepts (15%) carry a large part of the score, and the study guide flags both as weak spots for nurses whose strength is bedside care.

• When: next 90-day window; there is no minimum wait.
• How often: one retake application within a year of the fail.
• Cost: $315 for non-members, less for AMSN members.

A prepaid retake (CertAssure) and employer FailSafe programs can lower that cost; both are on registration and cost.