I've been a school nurse for about six years and my district has been pushing hard for us to get certified. Took my first shot at the COHN back in February and missed by 11 points — honestly devastating after three months of prep. The thing that tripped me up was I was mostly reading the NASN textbook cover to cover and barely doing any practice questions, which was a huge mistake.
Second attempt I completely changed my approach. I found a solid COHN practice test site and drilled about 20-30 questions every morning before my shift. That repetition helped me recognize the way the questions are worded, which is really different from just knowing the content. I also made a one-page study guide for each domain — community health concepts and case management were my weakest areas.
Passed with an 82 last month. The exam tips that helped most: read every question twice, eliminate the obviously wrong answers first, and don't overthink scenarios. Happy to answer questions if anyone else is in the middle of prepping!