Certification Board - American Association of Heart Failure Nurses

December CBT Exam

September 1st - November 11th

AAHFN CHFN exam is based on 2022 Heart Failure Guidelines

Registration open now!

CHFN Examination

The CHFN examination is based on the 2022 heart failure guidelines. To help you prepare, the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses (AAHFN) offers two key resources: the Heart Failure Nursing Certification Core Curriculum Review (3rd Edition) and the CHFN Online Review Course — available through the AAHFN Online Bookstore and Education site. Candidates are also strongly encouraged to review the latest heart failure guidelines as part of their study plan.

Need Leadership support for obtaining your CHFN? Click here for letter and flyer.

2022 Heart Failure Guidelines

CHFN for the Clinical RN or Non-Clinical RN

Whether you are a Clinical or Non-Clinical nurse, our CHFN credential is the Mark of Distinction of your commitment to the heart failure community.

Certification Eligibility Criteria	Clinical Nurse	Non-Clinical Nurse
Registered nurse background	Current, active RN license for at least 2 years or it’s equivalent (4160 hours)	Current, active RN license for at least 5 years or its equivalent(10,400 hours)
Clinical practice in the care of patients with heart failure	1,200 hours within the last 2 years (equates to 29% of time in clinical practice within the previous 2 years)	Not applicable
Education	Registered nurse	Registered nurse with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing [BSN] or equivalent bachelors degree + 2400 hours experience in current role or Masters + 2080 hours experience in current role
Evidence of indirect work in heart failure	Not applicable	Evidence of how nurses are indirectly involved in patients with HF or how nurses complete action(s) in their role that are related to HF
Total continuing education hours / Heart failure continuing education	30 hours of accredited continuing education within the last two (2) years, of which a minimum of 15 hours must be focused on care of patients with heart failure.	30 hours of accredited heart failure continuing education within the last two (2) years.
Recertification Eligibility Criteria (every 3 years) Professional Development	Clinical	Non-Clinical
Registered nurse background	Current, active RN license in a state or territory of the United States or the professional, legally recognized equivalent in another country.	Current, active RN license in a state or territory of the United States or the professional, legally-recognized equivalent in another country.
Hold a current heart failure certification	Current, active CHFN	Current, active CHFN
Heart failure continuing education	45 contact hours in heart failure specific topics in the last 3 years	45 contact hours in heart failure specific topics in the last 3 years
Other recertification differences	One of 8 requirements (see website) https://www.aahfn.org/mpage/recertif_chfn	One of 8 requirements (see website) https://www.aahfn.org/mpage/recertif_chfn
Recertification Eligibility Criteria (every 3 years) Retake Exam	Clinical	Non-Clinical
Registered nurse background	Current, active RN license in a state or territory of the United States or the professional, legally recognized equivalent in another country.	Current, active RN license in a state or territory of the United States or the professional, legally-recognized equivalent in another country.
Hold a current heart failure certification	Current, active CHFN	Current, active CHFN
Heart failure continuing education	45 contact hours of which a minimum of 27 hours must be focused on care of patients with heart failure.in heart failure in the last 2 years	45 contact hours of which a minimum of 27 hours must be focused in heart failure specific topics in the last 2 years
Exam	Pass the exam	Pass the exam