A nurse in the emergency department assesses a patient with a hand laceration and notices that the patient smells strongly of alcohol. The patient is diabetic, irritable, and pale and reports headache. The nurse is waiting for laboratory results. What serum glucose level might the nurse expect to find?

The Progressive Care Certified Nurse (PCCN) exam is administered by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), which is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. The PCCN examination tests applicants' knowledge of caring for acutely ill adult patients.

PCCN is a specialty certification for nurses who provide direct care to acutely ill adult patients regardless of their physical location. Nurses interested in this certification may work in areas such as intermediate care, direct observation, stepdown, telemetry, transitional care or emergency departments.