Certified Breast Care Nurse (CBCN®)
Are you ready to enhance your professional credibility and enjoy the feeling of personal accomplishment that comes from being certified? If you meet the criteria listed below, take the test for certified breast care nurse and become recognized for your specialty knowledge.
Test Fees
| Non-member | $420 |
| ONS/APHON Member | $300 |
Determining if you are eligible
- Active License
A current, active, unencumbered license as a registered nurse in the US, its territories, or Canada at the time of application and examination. - 2,000 Hours of Practice
A minimum of 2,000 hours of breast care nursing practice within the four years (48 months) prior to application.
Nursing practice may be in clinical practice, nursing administration, education, research, or consultation.
- 2 years Experience
A minimum of two years (24 months) of experience as an RN within the four years (48 months) prior to application. Minimum 10 Contact Hours
Completed a minimum of 10 contact hours of nursing continuing education in breast care nursing or an academic elective in breast care nursing within the three years (36 months) prior to application.The contact hours must have been provided or formally approved by an acceptable accredited provider or approver of continuing nursing education (CNE) or nursing continuing professional development (NCPD). A maximum of five of the 10 (50%) required contact hours in oncology may be continuing medical education (CME) in breast care or continuing pharmacy education (CPE). Continuing education accredited via Joint Accreditation/Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) must specify hours awarded by ANCC, ACCME, or ACPE, to be accepted by ONCC.
Exam component
CBCN® is the only nationally accredited breast care nursing certification that is available exclusively to registered nurses, and that encompasses the entire spectrum of breast care nursing practice.
The certification test is a three-hour, 165 multiple-choice question test based on the CBCN® Test Content Outline (Test Blueprint). The Test Content Outline is based on the results of a role delineation study of basic breast care nursing practice conducted in 2020.
The CBCN® Test Content Outline includes five major subject areas, each with a percentage assigned to it. Many nurses who have passed the test tell us the Test Content Outline was essential in helping them know what areas to study. Remember, only generic drug names are used on ONCC tests. Once you pass the exam, your certification is valid for four years.
Note: If you’re eligible to test, you’ll receive an Authorization to Test (ATT) within 2 weeks of applying. This ATT will open an almost-immediate 90-day testing window. You must take the test within that 90-day window.
Related Resources
Check out these resources to help you prepare for the CBCN® exam.
DoubleTake Option
Don’t let test anxiety hold you back from taking a certification test. ONCC DoubleTake provides a retake option if you don’t pass the test on the first attempt – without paying the full test fee again.