Passed ANCC FNP today

[rmicu]

Good evening all and Happy New Year.

I graduated on December 14th and passed the ANCC FNP exam today!!! Let the book burning begin.... .

The exam has 200 questions . Labs were the common labs, meds had generic and brand names listed. Lots of images, pictures. The survey questions at the end of the exam were nerve-wracking..

I obtained a lot of useful information from this site so I wanted to share as well.

I set a 6 week timeframe to study, 2 hours daily (most of the time). I did 25 practice questions a day from Amelie Hollier's APEA book of questions (has the rationales)--this didn't take a lot of time and was not included in my 2 hour study time.

My school (University of Alabama at Birmingham) provided the Fitzgerald review course for our last semester. Fitzgerald is very talkative (as others have stated), she provides a lot of info for the exam and for use in clinical practice. I made up flashcards as I listened to her lectures and I didn't need to return to her review book or lectures at all. She gives a good foundation, but talks and talks about extra things not on exam.

Studied 2 body systems a day: reviewed common diseases for each system- what it looks like, how to diagnose it; assessment techniques , physical findings, treatment guidelines, etc.

I purchased the ANCC Resource Manual (it has 50 practice questions and the first 3 chapters are essential for the actual exam), the ANCC practice questions (2 sets of 75 questions) and ANCC Test Taking strategies (25 questions, good insight)-- I would recommend them all .

I purchased Barkleys Home Study FNP course on December 12th and listened to it over 4 days. I really liked his style. He highlights what you need to know for the exam, gets right to the point and has a very detailed pediatric session. It was a good reinforcement of what I already studied and helped to narrow down my studies. I would recommend buying this review earlier than I did-- it was very good and very accurate as to what was on the exam.

I did one practice exam a week from familynpprep.com. Each test has 100 questions with rationales. These were helpful, especially for theory, billing/ financial, ethics and NP role questions. I would recommend them.

For the last 4 days, I only did practice questions-about 50-75 a day----from Hollier's book, 75 from ANCC practice questions, Leik's newest book and familynprep.com.

On Sunday, I really felt like I had done all I could do, studied as much as I could--if I didn't know it by then it wasn't worth knowing--lol... But, I still did 350 more questions yesterday (Monday) by 1pm (then I relaxed for the rest of the day)...

I would suggest just relaxing the day before the test-- no studying or practice questions (smile).

My study plan was probably overkill--but I needed to know that I did all I could in order to pass. Plus, I have a position waiting for me as soon as I am licensed ( thanks to allnurses for guidance on what to ask employer during interview, what to look for in an employer, contracts, etc.)

I hope this is helpful.. I appreciate the allnurses community for the support and great information... I always look here first-and it has not steered me wrong yet.

Best of luck to all who are studying/ preparing for certification exams--you can do it!!

Good night and Happy New Year to all. ..

[BCgradnurse, MSN, RN, NP]

Congratulations!

[phillycpnp-pc, MSN, RN, NP]

Congrats on passing the boards, the new position, and thanks for the study tips. I am currently studying for the boards now its a little overwhelming but i like the way you laid out your study plan. Good luck!

[echocat, ASN, RN]

Congratulations on passing and thanks tons for the study tips. I'm finishing up my BSN this summer and plan to start grad school immediately after finishing my BSN. Having that information is very valuable; I will probably make notes of what you have noted already!

[rmicu, MSN, NP]

Thanks everyone. And it will be a Happy New Year for us all!

[mss6721]

Congratulations!!! And thank you for the study tips!

[KatRNBSN2014]

Congratulations!! I'm UAB undergrad, graduating with my BSN on April 26th, and I want to eventually pursue FNP. Glad they gave extra resources. :-)

[Barinbass]

Congratulations!! I passed in September and am job hunting.

[sbj101]

Congrats!! Thanks for the study tips!

[delilahgirl]

Congratulations! I am set to take my exam on Monday and have never been more nervous about anything in my life! Reading your post gives me hope but I still can't stop thinking what if... I have been studying over the last few months and have used several study resources. I did Fitzgerald's review course online and she is extremely detailed and wordy. Today I actually did the practice questions, which were just a review of the questions in her study guide that went along with the course, and they encouraged you to use the book. However, I thought what was the point of that? Talk about exam fatigue...there were 245 questions and they were all so wordy. I still did pretty good on it, but had to look up some of the answers (as they were fill in the blank), which I think is not realistic for the actual test. Also, while reading the questions I couldn't help but think, they would never ask this question or that question. Some of her information is just a bit too much. I have listened to older versions of both Barkely and Hollier (2010 I think) and they were helpful. Neither of them is as dry as her, however, the peds section of Barkely was excruciatingly long and the woman who gave the review had quite an annoying voice, so that is all I could focus on. I have kept the Barkely CDs in my car and try to listen to them whenever I'm driving, having almost gotten through them a 2nd time. I also have Hollier's most recent review book, Leik's most recent review book, and the ANCC book. Unfortunately my studying was not as structured as you. I get impatient and never know where to start. I also purchased 2 exams from FamilyNPPrep.com. I do feel like I know a lot more information than I did when I started studying, but it is still frustrating with all the information there is to know! I find the hardest part for me is reading the questions too fast and not answering the question being asked, missing key words like not or except. I am really going to have to tell myself to slow down on the test and reread the questions. Thank you so much for your post. It is encouraging to know someone has passed recently and gives me hope!

[Lisalis]

Congrats to you!