If you need help studying for the NCC Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing exam or just want some more information about what the exam is like, you’ve come to the right place.
Click below to take a free Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing practice test!
What’s on the Exam?
How to Register
Exam Scores
Retaking the Exam
Online RNC-NIC Prep Course
FAQs
Exam Eligibility
Before you can register to take the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing exam, you’ll need to have a valid RN license in the US or Canada.
You’ll also need to meet BOTH of the requirements below:
- You need at least 2,000 hours of specialty RN experience within the last two years
- You need to have been employed in the specialty at some point in the last two years
If you meet these requirements, you’re set to begin the registration process!
What’s on the Exam?
First, let’s talk about the questions on the exam. There are 175 multiple-choice questions total, but only about 150 of the questions will count toward your score. Why is that?
The 25 unscored questions on the exam are “pretest” questions. These are added to the exam to determine if they’re good enough questions to add to future versions of the test.
The trick is that you won’t have any way of knowing which questions are scored and which ones are pretest. They will appear just like the scored questions throughout the test.
The time limit for the exam is 3 hours. There aren’t any scheduled breaks, but you’re free to take restroom breaks as needed.
Let’s take a closer look at the different sections of the exam:
1. General Assessment
9% of the exam
- Antepartum risk factors and birth history
- Physical and gestational age assessment
2. General Management
39% of the exam
- Resuscitation and stabilization
- Fluids, electrolytes, and glucose homeostasis
- Nutrition and feeding
- Oxygenation, ventilation and acid base homeostasis
- Thermoregulation and integumentary
- Pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
- Neuroprotective and neurodevelopmental care
3. Assess and Manage Pathophysiologic States
44% of the exam
- Cardiovascular
- Respiratory
- Gastrointestinal/genitourinary
- Hematopoietic
- Neurological/neuromuscular/musculoskeletal
- Genetic, metabolic and endocrine
- Head, eyes, ears, nose and throat
- Infection and immunology
4. Psychosocial Support
5% of the exam
- Discharge management
- Family centered care
- Grieving
- Palliative care
- Mental health
5. Professional Practice Issues
3% of the exam
- Legal
- Ethics
- Evidence-based practice
- Safety
- Quality improvement
How to Register
Once you’ve ensured that you meet all of the eligibility requirements, you can register for the exam.
To get started, you’ll need to submit an application on NCC’s website. The application will ask you for your contact information and any documentation to prove your eligibility (among other things). When you submit the application, you’ll also need to submit the application fee, which is $50.
Once your application is approved, you’ll be given information on how to register for a testing appointment. During registration, you’ll need to pay the $275 exam fee.
Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing Study Guide and Flashcards
Get practice questions, detailed study lessons, and complex subjects broken down into easily understandable concepts.
How is the Exam Scored?
The Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing exam is scored using two methods: criterion-referenced scoring and scaled scoring.
The NCC board of directors have determined the specific knowledge and skills required to be a competent neonatal intensive care nurse and created the questions based on the criteria they came up with. They then came up with a cut-off score that reflects the minimum level of knowledge and skills you need.
Scaled Scoring
For security and validity reasons, each administration of the exam contains a slightly different set of questions. Since everyone has a different arrangement of questions, and because some questions are harder than others, the cut-off score and your final score are converted to a scaled score to ensure a more even playing field.
When you get your score report, it gives you a short descriptor of how you did on each section of the exam instead of giving you exact scoring information. There are five levels of feedback you can receive:
- VERY WEAK
- WEAK
- AVERAGE
- STRONG
- VERY STRONG
Here’s an example of what this looks like:
Retaking the Exam
If you didn’t get a passing score on your first try, that’s okay! You can retake the test after a 90-day waiting period.
Keep in mind that you will have to pay the full testing fee every time you retake the test.
Online RNC-NIC Prep Course
If you want to be fully prepared, Mometrix offers an online RNC-NIC prep course. The course is designed to provide you with any and every resource you might want while studying. The RNC-NIC course includes:
- 60+ Review Lessons Covering Every Topic
- 850+ RNC-INC Practice Questions
- 500+ Digital Flashcards
- Money-back Guarantee
- Free Mobile Access
- and More!
The RNC-NIC prep course is designed to help any learner get everything they need to prepare for their RNC-NIC exam. Click below to check it out!
FAQs
How many questions are on the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing exam?
The exam contains 175 questions.
What is the time limit for the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing exam?
The exam is timed at 3 hours.
How much does the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing exam cost?
The testing fee is $275, which doesn’t include the $50 application fee.
