CAPA® Exam Preparation

CAPA Preparation and Resources

The American Board of Perianesthesia Nursing Certification (ABPANC) provides a list of recommended references to assist candidates in preparing for the Certified Ambulatory Perianesthesia Nurse (CAPA) exam. These references include foundational textbooks and clinical guidelines relevant to perianesthesia nursing, covering key areas such as anesthesia care, patient monitoring, post-anesthesia recovery, and potential complications.

BoardCerts integrates recommended resources and the CAPA exam blueprint into its question banks. This ensures that practice materials are precise, up-to-date, and aligned with the core competencies required for success in perianesthesia nursing. This approach provides candidates with targeted preparation to enhance their understanding and readiness for the exam.

Key Concepts on CAPA exam

Exam Categories: Percentage Distribution

CAPA Blueprint and Focus Areas

Area of Focus	Subtopics	Percent of Exam
Anesthesia	Knowledge of various anesthesia techniques, including general, regional, local, moderate sedation, and monitored intravenous sedation (MAC and TIVA). Anesthetic and reversal agents, stages of anesthesia, and considerations for special populations such as pediatric, pregnant, geriatric patients, and those with pre-existing conditions.	20%
Physiology	Pathophysiology of body systems, physical assessment, responses to procedures and anesthesia, and potential complications arising from pre-existing conditions.	16%
Perianesthesia Monitoring and Intervention	Monitor and manage patients during the perianesthesia period, including interpreting diagnostic results, vital signs, hemodynamic monitoring, managing complications during emergence, and addressing abnormal physiological conditions. Injury prevention, thermoregulation, airway management, fluid and electrolyte management, infection prevention, pain management, alternative treatment modalities, pharmacology, and handling perianesthesia-specific emergencies.	30%
Perianesthesia Care Considerations	Continuum and transfer of care across various phases, including pre-admission, pre-operative, post-anesthesia Phase I, and Phase II. Individualized patient care, considering environmental, psychosocial, behavioral health, and mental health factors. Additionally, it includes patient and family planning and education throughout the perianesthesia process.	25%
Professional Nursing Practice and Guidelines	Knowledge of multidisciplinary collaboration, evidence-based practice, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) guidelines, healthcare quality and patient safety principles, Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States (MHAUS) protocols, American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses (ASPAN) standards, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) guidelines, and various regulatory, legal, and ethical guidelines.	9%

CAPA Resources

The BoardCerts CAPA Question Bank is expertly crafted to align with the official exam blueprint, helping each individual concentrate on the most relevant topics for success.

In addition, the exam candidate handbook lists the following resources as additional possible material to support preparation:

ACLS Provider Manual, American Heart Association
PALS Provider Manual, American Heart Association
Perianesthesia Nursing Standards, Practice Recommendations, and Interpretive Statements, ASPAN
Perianesthesia Nursing Core Curriculum – Preprocedure, Phase I and Phase II PACU Nursing, Elsevier
Drain’s PeriAnesthesia Nursing: A Critical Care Approach, Elsevier
Saunders Nursing Drug Handbook, Elsevier
Critical Care Nursing, Diagnosis and Management, Elsevier
Wong’s Nursing Care of Infants and Children, Elsevier
Nurse Anesthesia, Elsevier

Purchase CAPA Question Bank

A

B

C

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

A

B

C

M

N

O

P

R

S

T