Passed ANCC 2016!

[dgsmith]

I wanted to share my experience with the ANCC FNP exam. I took the exam this morning and I wanted to post while everything is still fresh in my mind.

I studied for about 3-4 months, the first 2 months, my studies were not as intense as the past month or so. My school provided an ANCC review that was just mediocre and undesirable. I believe they've recently changed how the conduct the review so we were the pilot. I am sure that review course is better now, with our feedback, but at the time, it was not what I consider a solid review.

So I bought Amelie's FNP MP3 review..... OMG!!! It was great! I highly recommend. I also reviewed Fitzgerald's blue and white book and listened to her review. I didn't listen to all of her review just because she sometimes becomes unfocused which throws me off at times. I tend to stop listening. Most of my classmates enjoyed her review. I say go for it. But for me, I preferred Amelie. Fitzgerald's blue and white book was amazing for when you require a more detailed explanation. I suggest using this during your program too. The questions in her book are great. Detailed but I prefer that because it helps understanding the entire condition and not just memorizing an answer. Leif's blue book.... *faints* was a total lifesaver! The 600 something questions in the back really helped. I thought I saw a few that were similar on the exam. She gives exam tips throughout the book which helped. She also has some non-clinical information in the back that really helped a ton too. I highly recommend the Leik book. I also purchased the ANCC review books, both editions. I recommend the first edition only, for the non-clinical information. Those first few chapters covers this extensively.

I also practiced questions from Winland-Brown which were good. It was broken down by system and it has rationales for the answers. IT has 2 practice exams in the back too and a disc with questions. Some questions are way left field but helps with solidifying material.

I recommend practicing questions as much as possible AFTER you've completed your reading. I bought questions from Exam Edge and I purchased 2 quizzes from Amelie other than the quizzes provided with her review. Exam Edge questions were good for the non-clinical items. I saw a lot of cultural things there that I didn't read anywhere. My scores were all over the place 330-390s. Amelie too, 67%-78%. Remember you only need 65% on the actual exam to pass.

They give you 4 hours, I finished in 2. Um... that's all I can really think of. Just stay confident and remember that we are all smart and we can do it!!!! IF you aren't successful, do it again!!!! It's most likely nerves!

This was long, I'm sorry! If I think of anything else I will edit and update.

[WORKIN-RN]

Thanks!!!!!

[TabDWalker]

Thank you SO much for sharing your tips!! I plan on taking the ANCC shortly.. I graduate tomorrow! :)

On your exam, did you get a lot of visuals you had to identify.. such as derm pics, eyes, ECG readings, etc? I was wondering if those would be on there.

Also, are you given lab values?

And, did you have a lot of cultural questions?

Thanks in advance! And, congratulations!

[dgsmith]

Hey,

don't want to get in too much trouble and post details of the exam. The cultural stuff is hard to study for but it's easy to answer due to just common sense. I felt that just years of being a nurse helps a lot too. Review pictures in Fitzgerald or even on uptodate for some of the more common things. Nothing was a "trick" on the exam. All pictures were clear and straight forward.

Best of luck!

[dgsmith]

Sorry. See my post below. I forgot to mention, as far as labs, I think you will be fine if you don't memorize them. I wrote down a few of the labs I weren't comfortable with during the tutorial but I don't think it was necessary. I can't post too much here but again, I think if you know the basics then you will be fine.

[dianamg81]

Hello,

I took the test yesterday and I am happy to say I passed the ANCC. I have to agree with dgsmith regarding learning lab values. I have to admit memorizing labs was not my strong suit but I don't think I was negatively impacted. I had a few pictures. One was identifying diabetic retinopathy, PAD and mild acne. There was a lot of nursing leadership questions as well as research. There were questions that I felt very confident answering but there were others that I had no clue about. I finished in about 3.5 hours and spent the last 30 minutes reviewing questions I was unsure of Also the Leik book was my bible. The read the book twice and answered the 640 questions twice each time reviewing the questions I got wrong. I was obligated by my school to do the live Fitzgerald course. I don't feel like the learned much in the 2.5 days. I was given her CD's and found them somewhat helpful. I also found her book to be too detailed then necessary. Good luck!!

-dianamg81

[Chaelsue]

So thankful to see this post. I'm taking ANCC next week. Had an unfortunate experience with AANP in early June, so am planning for a much better result this time. I've been studying like crazy, but don't know what to expect. Thanks for the tips and congrats on passing!

[stayingfocused1]

Hi Chaelsue, MSN, RN

I was wondering if you took the ANCC exam yet. I'm so discouraged after failing the AANP twice. The first time, I don't think I gave myself enough time plus I was still in my MSN program. First mistake. The second time, I studied a lot. I thought the exam was pretty easy, but after receiving the NOT PASS print out, I was devastated. My study materials consisted of Liek (mostly) Hollier & Fitzgerald. I could kick myself for not purchasing the quebank for Hollier. I strongly believe doing more questions probably would have helped. Most of the questions I did were from Liek book and her app, which are probably the same questions from the book. Her questions are great, but I needed more than just hers. I started studying Hollier, again, but ran out of time. I took Holliers review back in May and I don't feel I retained much since it was so long ago. I am now preparing to view the online review of Hollier along w/ purchasing her quebank. Maybe the ANCC exam will be better for me. I feel like I chose the AANP exam because most review courses tailors to this exam, no one really talks much about the ANCC. Reading the allnurses comments are great, but scary at the same time. I'm looking for the best materials to study for the nonclinical portion of ANCC. Any suggestions??? Please excuse any typos and horrible grammar I may have throughout this post....so upset

trying to #stayfocused