Earn Your CAVRN

Why Get Certified?

Certification could be the missing piece in your career!

Good for you

Earning the CAVRN communicates to peers, employers, and patients that you are a competent and qualified virtual acute care nurse.

Demonstrate commitment, confidence, and credibility
Validate your expert, specialized knowledge
Maintain an innovative edge in your career
Gain confidence and satisfaction in your professional life
Increase your earning power
Earn respect from patients, colleagues, and employers

Good for your employer

Do you support your nurses in their pursuit of certification? Do you foster an environment where certification is encouraged and rewarded? Here are some reasons why you should:

Improved patient care and safety
Attract more qualified nurses
Enjoy higher nurse retention rate

Eligibility

Do you meet the requirements to apply for the CAVRN?

There are two eligibility criteria to sit for the CAVRN exam. You must meet all criteria at the time of application and for the full 90-day test period.

License. You must hold an unencumbered and current license as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the United States, its territories, or Canada.
- International nurses can also apply, see CAVRN Certification Handbook.
Hours of practice. You must have worked 1,000 practice hours within the past two (2) years in a virtual acute care setting. Practice may be as a clinical nurse, as a manager, or as an educator.
- It is recommended to have practiced two (2) full years in a medical-surgical setting with your RN license.

Who is the CAVRN for?

Virtual Nurses work in an augmented care environment where a virtual team provides support to the bedside team – offloading documentation burden, providing a second set of eyes on complex patients, and helping to close the growing experience/complexity gap in nursing. This model of care helps health systems reduce labor costs while liberating their bedside nurses to provide elevated, hands-on patient care.

The CAVRN credential is intended to measure the competencies required to provide this model of care; it's not testing nursing knowledge or expertise in your specialty setting. MSNCB, while developing the credential, wishes to acknowledge that it is available to acute care nurses outside of the medical-surgical specialty.

Domains of Virtual Acute Care Nursing Practice

Wondering if this certification is right for you? Review the Domains of Virtual Acute Care Practice in Appendix A of the CAVRN Certification Handbook. The domains are based on a practice analysis by virtual acute care nurses of virtual acute care nursing. If your practice encompasses these activities, then you belong in the CAVRN family.

About the Exam

What's on the test and how it got there.

Virtual nursing in acute care settings is a model of care with a distinct body of knowledge, skills, and abilities that are validated by the Certified Acute-Care Virtual Registered Nurse (CAVRN) certification from the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB). While we developed the CAVRN in anticipation of accelerated change and adoption in medical-surgical nursing practice, MSNCB recognizes the variety of specialties which may practice virtual acute care nursing.

MSNCB is transitioning to a new vendor, Data Recognition Corporation, who leverages the Pearson VUE testing network, for certification exams, causing a brief testing intermission from June 13–July 31, 2025. This will impact your 90-day testing eligibility if you apply for the CMSRN or CAVRN exam on or after March 15. MSNCB understands that, when it comes to achieving nursing excellence, the show must go on. During this pause, you are still welcome to apply for the certification exam.

IF YOUR APPLICATION IS APPROVED FROM MARCH 15–APRIL 8

Your eligibility to test will be truncated at June 13.
You will still have 65 days to schedule your exam if your application is approved on April 8.

IF YOUR APPLICATION IS APPROVED FROM APRIL 9–MAY 11

Your eligibility to test will be extended to Aug. 27, without appointment availability from June 13–July 31.
You will still have 60 days to schedule if your application is approved on May 11.

IF YOUR APPLICATION IS APPROVED FROM MAY 12–JUNE 8

Your eligibility to test will be extended to Sept. 30, without appointment availability from June 13–July 31.
You will still have 65 days to schedule if your application is approved on June 8.

IF YOUR APPLICATION IS APPROVED FROM JUNE 9–JULY 31

Your eligibility to test will be granted on Aug. 1, and the 90-day eligibility policy will resume.

Exam Development

The Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board (MSNCB®) collaborates with our test development partner, Prometric, to develop the CAVRN exam.

The CAVRN exam is based on a job task analysis (JTA), conducted at least every five years. A JTA is necessary to validate the tasks virtual acute care registered nurses perform, and the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform these tasks competently to provide safe patient care.

Exam Details

120 Questions

The CAVRN exam has 120 multiple choice questions. 100 of the questions are scored, and 20 questions are unscored to gather statistical data on item performance for future test forms.

2.5 Hours

You have two and a half (2.5) hours to complete the exam. We recommend you arrive at the testing center or launch the remote proctored exam application thirty (30) minutes before the start of your exam.

95 Passing Score

A standard score of 95, equal to approximately 83% correct, is required to pass the CAVRN exam. Your raw score is the number of questions you answered correctly out of the 100 scored questions. Your raw score is converted to a standard score to allow for comparison across different exam versions.

Prepare for the Exam

MSNCB has several resources to help you prepare for the exam.
- CAVRN blueprint
- CAVRN handbook

Apply

Ready to get started?

Create Your Account

Create a free account or log in to an existing account at amsn.org.
If you would like to become an AMSN member, apply at Join AMSN.
You do not have to join AMSN to become certified.

Submit Application and Pay

Start a CAVRN application.

Apply for the CAVRN

Enter your RN license information.
Submit payment or the name of your FailSafe facility.
Submit your application.
Wait for approval.

	AMSN Member Fee	Standard Fee
Initial Exam	$267	$394
First-time Retake Exam	$189	$315

Must be a member of AMSN at time of application to receive AMSN Member Fee
First-time retake discount only active for one year following first exam.
All exam fees include a non-refundable processing fee of $79.
Fees subject to change without notice.

Audit of Exam Application

MSNCB performs a 5% random audit of all CAVRN applications to verify eligibility requirements of our candidates.
Candidates who do not respond or whose supervisors do not respond to the audit request will not be allowed to take the exam and your application will be denied.

Get Approved

You'll receive your Authorization to Test in an email. You have 90 days to take the exam from the time you receive your Authorization to Test. You cannot use the scheduling portal in the last 6 days of your test period.
If you do not receive your Authorization to Test and do not have any contact from MSNCB about your application within five days, please contact us.

Schedule and Take the Exam

When and where to take the exam during your 90 day test period.

The CAVRN exam is available at testing centers or via live remote proctoring.

You can access the scheduling portal through your application after you receive your Authorization to Test.

Schedule through Application

Our test administrator will email you with a confirmation number and details of your exam date and location after you schedule your exam. You will need this confirmation number to take the exam.

MSNCB is transitioning to a new vendor, Data Recognition Corporation, who leverages the Pearson VUE testing network, for certification exams, causing a brief testing intermission from June 13–July 31, 2025. This will impact your 90-day testing eligibility if you apply for the CMSRN or CAVRN exam on or after March 15. MSNCB understands that, when it comes to achieving nursing excellence, the show must go on. During this pause, you are still welcome to apply for the certification exam.

IF YOUR APPLICATION IS APPROVED FROM MARCH 15–APRIL 8

Your eligibility to test will be truncated at June 13.
You will still have 65 days to schedule your exam if your application is approved on April 8.

IF YOUR APPLICATION IS APPROVED FROM APRIL 9–MAY 11

Your eligibility to test will be extended to Aug. 27, without appointment availability from June 13–July 31.
You will still have 60 days to schedule if your application is approved on May 11.

IF YOUR APPLICATION IS APPROVED FROM MAY 12–JUNE 8

Your eligibility to test will be extended to Sept. 30, without appointment availability from June 13–July 31.
You will still have 65 days to schedule if your application is approved on June 8.

IF YOUR APPLICATION IS APPROVED FROM JUNE 9–JULY 31

Your eligibility to test will be granted on Aug. 1, and the 90-day eligibility policy will resume.

Schedule Your Exam

Decide if you'll be taking your exam at a testing center or via live remote proctoring from a secure location of your choice.
Return to the application and select Step 3: Exam Appointment Scheduling to access the Prometric scheduling portal.

Testing Accommodations

MSNCB provides reasonable testing accommodations for individuals with documented disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Select the checkbox for accommodations during the application and we will contact you to request further information.
Devices that have external communication capability such as cellular, wireless, or Bluetooth must be pre-authorized by MSNCB and the test administrator before you schedule your exam, or you may not be allowed to test on your test day.

Live Remote Proctoring

You can take your exam anytime, anywhere with our test administrator’s remote-testing platform, ProProctor™. Proctors are there for you in real-time to assist with any problems you may encounter and to maintain the security and integrity of the exam.

Do the following before test day

Complete the System Readiness Check (Step 1).
Download and install the ProProctor Application (Step 2) after you schedule.

Virtual check-in and security procedures

Read the ProProctor User Guide to understand all check-in and security procedures. Failure to follow Prometric check-in and security procedures may result in the early termination of your exam and you will not be refunded your exam fees. Check-in and security procedures include but are not limited to:

No other person or animal is allowed to be in your testing room at any point during the exam
Your web camera or computer must be able to show your Readiness Agent a 360-degree view of your testing room, including underneath your desk or table

Start a remote proctored exam

Go to ProProctor Launch Exam and enter your confirmation number and the first four (4) letters of your surname thirty (30) minutes before the start of your exam appointment. Select "Find" and you will be connected to a Readiness Agent within a few minutes.

Contact Prometric Support with technical problems

If you encounter any technical problems during your remote proctored exam, please reach out to your Readiness Agent or Prometric Proctor. If you are disconnected from the agent or proctor, then please first contact Prometric Support for help. If they are unable to help you, then contact us within ten (10) days of your exam appointment or your exam application fees will be forfeit.

Exam Day Requirements

Bring the following with you to your exam appointment:

Confirmation number for your exam appointment
Government-issued photo ID with a signature and expiration date. Your ID must be either unexpired or no more than 90 days expired.
- If you are not a citizen of the country you are testing in, you must bring an unexpired passport with you.
- Your ID name must match your exam application name. You must contact us 2 weeks before your exam appointment to have MSNCB change your name in your application.

Get Your Results

You will find out if you passed or failed the exam immediately after completing the exam. The test administrator will send you a Score Report within 24 hours of completing the exam. We will receive your exam score within five (5) days.
If you fail your exam on your first attempt, your application will remain open for another year. During this time, you can retake the exam with a discount. If you fail on your second attempt, you will need to open a new application.

Need to make a change to your exam date?

Life happens. Reschedule or cancel your exam.

Reschedule or Cancel Exam

You may need to pay a fee to Prometric to reschedule or cancel your exam.

DAYS BEFORE EXAM	Reschedule or Cancel Fee
Over 15	No charge.
6 to 15	$25, paid to Prometric
5 or less	Not allowed. See extensions.

Return to the scheduling portal through your application to reschedule or cancel an exam.

Missed Exams and Expired Test Periods

We understand life happens, and sometimes you can’t make a scheduled exam appointment or you forget to schedule an exam. In those cases, you can request an extension of your 90-day test period.

Request an extension for three reasons

You cannot attend an exam happening in 5 days or less.
You miss a scheduled exam.
Your 90-day test period expired and you didn’t schedule an exam.

Contact us within 10 days of a missed exam or expired test period

You must request an extension within ten (10) days of a missed exam or the expiration of your test period. Your exam application fee will not be refunded and you will have to reapply for the exam and pay full fees again if you miss this 10 day deadline.

Contact us at certification@msncb.org to request an extension form.

Cost of extension is $79

The cost for an extension is $79 and is non-refundable. You will only be charged if your extension is approved. Fees are subject to change without notice.

If you miss an exam or are unable to schedule through no fault of your own, you may request a no-fee extension. Supporting documentation may be required.

One extension for one exam registration

You may only have one extension for each exam registration.

Withdraw CAVRN Application

You must cancel any scheduled exam before you request to withdraw your CAVRN application. Then, contact us to request a refund. All exam fees include a non-refundable $79 processing fee, no exceptions.

We review refund requests on a case-by-case basis. Supporting documentation must be provided.

FailSafe candidates are not eligible to withdraw their application.

Become a CAVRN

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