Monthly Briefing October 2026

A somewhat common concern relates to perceived differences in difficulty between the CHT and CHRN certification examinations: “I have heard that one is harder than the other”. This issue is only pertinent to RNs, who can choose between the two exams, or elect to take both. At the time of this writing 231 RNs have certified as CHTs, many of whom are also CHRNs.

The fact is, neither is harder than the other, per se. Rather, there are obvious differences in focus between the two question banks, as one might expect. While several sections are equally balanced between the exams, including operations and safety, the CHRN exam has sections directly related to nursing practice, such as Patient Assessment, Nursing Education and Nursing Interventions.

This nursing-specific content represents approximately 30% of the 120 questions randomly selected from the question bank, the balance being of identical content to that of the CHT exam. To accommodate for that 30% difference, the database program selects slightly fewer questions from certain shared topics. Examples include Mechanisms of Action, Primary Indications, Physics and Decompression Table Computation.

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The Mayo Clinic’s Hyperbaric and Altitude Medicine Program has entered the planning stages for a Mayo Hyperbaric Safety Conference. It is scheduled for June 4-5, 2027, up in Rochester, MN, with an impressive slate of speakers. Many thanks to Andrew Melnyczenko and his colleagues for committing to this important initiative. Once the National Board is provided with specific program registration information and other details, we will share them with you via an email blast and within a subsequent Monthly Briefing.

Dick Clarke, President

National Board of Diving & Hyperbaric Medical Technology