BCEN Learn

What it is

BCEN Learn is the online continuing education platform of the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing (BCEN), whose address is 1900 Spring Road in Oak Brook, IL. The site calls it "an all-in-one continuing education platform for nurses working across the emergency and critical care spectrum, from the bedside to leadership roles", built for nurses in adult and pediatric emergency, trauma, critical care ground transport, flight and burn nursing. It sells CE courses on clinical and professional topics, offers free CE webinars, and runs review courses and practice exams for BCEN's own certification exams. Content is developed by subject matter experts, and nurses can earn CEs on their own schedule from any device. The site says free learning resources are added monthly.

BCEN itself is the certifying body behind six credentials: Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN), Certified Flight Registered Nurse (CFRN), Certified Transport Registered Nurse (CTRN), Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN), Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN) and Certified Burn Registered Nurse (CBRN). BCEN Learn is the education side of that work, and the site says nurses holding any of those six will find courses that apply to their practice.

What you get

BCEN Learn groups its offer into five formats: online nursing CE courses, free CE webinars, learning games, virtual conference sessions and exam preparation. The menu sums it up as "Interactive virtual courses, games and webinars."

The paid courses are sorted into six topic areas, each with a short brief:

• Cardiovascular care covers recognition of acute coronary syndromes, cardiac rhythms and the medications used in cardiovascular emergencies. Examples include Peeking Below the Surface: Understanding Hemodynamics, Cardiogenic Shock: A Case Study Approach, and a heart failure virtual summit on demand about optimizing outcomes and improving quality of life.
• Respiratory runs from arterial blood gas interpretation to ventilator management, with From Airflow to Alarms: Ventilator Essentials for Nursing, Inhalation Injuries: An Overview Across the Continuum of Care, and Barotrauma and the Bends: Evolved Gas Disorders.
• Neurological covers time-sensitive neurological emergencies across the lifespan, from prehospital and transport considerations to chronic disorders, with Critical Care Management of Traumatic Brain Injuries, Adult Seizure Management and Step on a Crack: Spinal Cord Trauma.
• Medical emergencies addresses conditions like sepsis, DKA, sickle cell crisis and hyperkalemia, in courses the site says are created by ED nurses. It includes Trauma Tactics: Contemporary Approaches to Hemorrhage Management, a virtual summit on demand about optimizing blood usage in trauma, and a Case Study-Driven Courses Bundle.
• Pediatric nursing covers seizures, neonatal sepsis, abdominal trauma and congenital heart defects, with titles such as We Have A Pulse! Pediatric Post Resuscitation Care, Nonpharmacological Interventions for Painful Procedures with Pediatric Patients, and Tummy Trauma: Solid Abdominal Organ Injuries in Children.
• Professional development covers nurse leader training, revenue cycle basics and emergency nursing fundamentals. Here sit the recorded BCEN Learn Live April 2025 conference, Using Simulation to Enhance Emergency Education, and BCEN Learn Course Jeopardy Second Edition, one of the learning games.

BCEN Learn Live is BCEN's own conference, described as professional development and networking, and its April 2025 edition is sold on demand as a course.

Every CE a nurse earns on the platform goes into BCEN's CE Tracker, which the site says adds all credits earned from BCEN Learn "to one easy-to-manage tracker", which it presents as a way to simplify recertification. The site also says the platform gives access to emergency and critical care experts from around the country.

Exam preparation

For nurses working toward a BCEN credential, BCEN Learn runs three review courses, each worth 21 CEs: the CEN Review Course for emergency nursing certification prep, described as BCEN's "award-winning virtual review course"; the CPEN Review Course for pediatric emergency nursing essentials; and the TCRN Review Course for a trauma nursing foundation. BCEN practice exams come in timed or non-timed formats with diagnostic feedback, so a candidate can "identify knowledge gaps" before test day. BCEN's study resources add content outlines, sample questions and practice exams, and a candidate handbook is linked from the site. BCEN Learn lists review courses for CEN, CPEN and TCRN only, with none for the flight, transport or burn credentials.

Prices, credits and accreditation

Single courses are priced individually, each with its contact hours. The four courses offered under "Start Earning Contact Hours Today" are General Trauma Concepts at $40.00 for 2 CEs, Cardiogenic Shock: A Case Study Approach at $40.00 for 2 CEs, Traumatic Chest Injuries and Chest Tube Management at $30.00 for 1.5 CEs, and The Lethal Trauma Diamond (coagulopathy, hypothermia, acidosis and hypocalcemia) at $20.00 for 1 CE. The pages give no price for the review courses, the practice exams or the bundle.

The FAQ answers the questions a nurse renewing a license will have. It explains that a CE is the activity and a CEU is a measurement, with one CEU equal to 10 contact hours, and that BCEN certifications and most nursing boards count contact hours. It says BCEN Learn courses "are accredited by the California State Board of Nursing to meet accreditation standards", and that contact hours earned count toward BCEN recertification and most state license renewals, adding that "Most states accept accredited contact hours for license renewal" and that nurses should check their own state board's rules. It also confirms free CE: "BCEN Learn includes free webinars that award CE credit."

The certifications themselves are a separate matter: the site states that the CEN, CFRN, CPEN, CTRN, TCRN and CBRN programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC) and Magnet-accepted. Certified nurses can renew by exam or by CE attestation, which is where BCEN Learn credits come in.

Teams and support

For employers, BCEN runs a voucher program offering "Bulk certification discounts for nurses and hospitals", with a "Certify Your Team" path and recertification vouchers; these cover certification, not BCEN Learn courses. Nurses paying their own way can apply for BCEN scholarships, including recertification scholarships.

Support comes from Candidate Experience Specialists, reachable at +1-877-302-BCEN (2236) and, per the site, available during business hours. A newsletter and a BCEN Learn update list announce new courses and free webinars.

Who it suits

BCEN Learn suits emergency, trauma, transport, flight, pediatric emergency and burn nurses who want CE written for their specialty rather than general nursing content, and who like to mix formats: paid single courses for a few contact hours at a time, free webinars, games and recorded conference sessions. Nurses preparing for the CEN, CPEN or TCRN exam get a 21-CE review course and practice exams from the same organization that sets the exam, and certified nurses gain a CE Tracker that keeps their BCEN Learn credits in one place for recertification. Nurse leaders will find leadership and revenue cycle courses beside the clinical ones.

It is less suited to nurses outside emergency and critical care, since the catalog stays within that field, and flight, transport and burn candidates will find specialty CE here but no dedicated review course. Hospitals looking for group pricing on courses will find the bulk offer framed around certification vouchers.