AANP FNP Quick Study Plan

Students NP Students

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Hi all! I recently passed my AANP FNP boards and wanted to share my study strategy, as it differed from what I'd seen on here when I was looking for advice! It seems that most threads on here average 6 weeks of studying, and I wanted to share that I believe you can prepare yourself adequately in about a week. Below is a list of my study materials, and whether I found each item useful:

1. I purchased the Fitzgerald Review CDs which I listened to on my weekly commutes to and from school during the final 2 months of my program. I felt that her CDs were easier to engage with while driving as opposed to trying to tune out distractions at home! Because I listened to them over such an extended period of time, however, I don't know how much of the information I truly committed to memory.

2. Maria Leik's Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Intensive Review book is a must. Chapters are broken down by body system, and within each system she gives the need-to-know facts for each condition. There are hundreds of questions with rationales in the back of the book and I found these to be the best use of my time. I was able to read this book cover to cover in a few days of studying. There are a couple of typos and incorrect facts, but the book is mostly great.

3. Fitzgerald's FNP review book went almost completely unused by me. I didn't like the formatting of the book or how you had to search within paragraphs to find the information you were looking for. She did include practice questions within chapters which may be useful to some.

4. I purchased two predictor exams from APEA, and while I know that may people find these useful, I felt that many of the questions were flawed. I performed borderline poorly on the two practice exams and it was a blow to my confidence. I believe I scored a 68 and a 70. If I could go back in time I wouldn't have spent my time or money on these.

5. AANP practice exams- $50 well spent! I purchased both the FNP version as well as the Adult-Geri version. A good handful of questions crossed over between both versions of the exam, but I saw one question from the Adult-Geri exam written verbatim on my real exam, as well as a couple others that were modeled closely after questions on the practice exams. I think these exams are a good indicator of what the real exam is like, with the exception of the fact that they are only 75 questions, so you don't run into the exam fatigue that I typically hit after 100 questions. I scored in the low 80's on both practice exams.

I committed about 4 half days as well as 3 full days to studying, and it was enough to feel relatively comfortable going into the exam. Most of my nerves were rooted in the idea that I could be making a huge mistake since most people take 6 weeks to study. But it all worked out! After you finish the 150 questions, the computer will ask you if you want to take a survey, and then your results will display in a PASSED/NOT PASS� format. My testing center also printed the results for me.

Happy studying and good luck! ?

Gdschild

62 Posts

This is great information. I have failed my AANP and I will be taking it again soon. I have taken the questions from Leiks review and found it to be very helpful (overall score was a 86%) with helping me gain more knowledge those are the only questions I took. I scored a 493 on my test which really hurt but I have to keep pushing through. I didn't really care for the APEA questions. I didn't use any of the exam edge questions so I will be utilizing those questions to hopefully help me pass on this next certification exam.

FNP2015

10 Posts

If you're scoring 86% on the Leik questions, then you're in excellent shape for the test! I didn't use exam edge but it might be a good study source! Good luck!

CocoaLoverFNP

238 Posts

Hello! Thank you for this information and congratulations on passing.

Did u feel like the aanp test focused more on peds?

Thanks again.

MsMeliss83

15 Posts

This was really helpful. I take my boards (AANP) next week! And I too was psyching myself out a bit about not having ample study time. I have to agree with many things you've said. I however, went to the Fitzgerald review live in January before my last semester. I purchased the Leik book, and aside from typos, the book is rather helpful and concise. I am not a fan nor would I promote APEA. I purchased their QBank tests, and I am doing horribly on them. I do not feel their rationales are satisfactory, there are typos, and incomplete questions. overall it is a waste of money. I tried contacting the company and the owner contacted me nearly immediately on a Saturday afternoon of a holiday weekend, however, I have not heard anything since. I too did very well on the AANP Family practice exam. Thanks for the tip on the Adult-Gero! I'm going to stop with the practice tests at this point and focus on mastering pertinent information necessary in order to answer questions.

FNP2015

10 Posts

The test was probably about 25-30% on peds. Just a rough estimate based on what I can remember, but I bet you could find a real range on the AANP website. Good luck!

FNP2015

10 Posts

Good luck, MsMeliss83! Perhaps I'll also reach out to APEA with some feedback!

FLRN2006

5 Posts

Hi everyone! I just passed my AANP AGNP certification examination and wanted to share my study strategy. While everyone has different studies needs I wanted to share mine as I know it was helpful to me reading about others study strategies. I purchased the Fitzgerald Online Review, complete all the sessions and tests. I also reviewed/read front to back Maria Leik's Certification Intensive Review book AND the Curriculum Review for AGPCNP from Barkley. I also did the PSI practice test and two predictors from APEA. If you are about to graduate, start studying today, it was the most difficult test I have ever taken! Build your knowledge! Best of luck to everyone! You can Do It!

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