TIPS for the AANP exam!

Nursing Students NP Students

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Hello, I am proud to say that I just passed the AANP exam for FNP. I have been reading this site for a while and thought I would give my input and tips.

REVIEW:

  • I attended Hollier's review in May, it was a good refresher and start to my studying.
  • Fitzgerald CD's and review book. Listened to CD's in my car on the way to and from clinicals and work! Review book was a wonderful reference for school and the BIG DAY!
  • Leik's fast facts on my kindle. I LOVED the layout (danger signs, summaries, questions..) and i think the questions on my review most reflected the questions in BOTH Leik's and Fitzgerald books. (scored around a 70% consistently on these questions).
  • NOT VERY HELPFUL--> Winland-Brown & Dunphy's review questions and strategies w/ CD ROM. The questions were very obscure, difficult, and did not represent the questions on the test. Still good to review because of the rationale but also lead to a bit of anxiety (I was scoring 40-70% on these exams!)
  • "Family Nurse Practitioner Exam Secrets"- 2 smaller condensed books with several typos and not alot of pharm...still and easy read and helped drill s/sx and terms into my head (and it was cheap! around $35).
  • Our program required us to take a Proctored FNP HESI exam and I scored an 87% which was a HUGE confidence boost!
  • I paid $50 on the AANP 75 question practice about a month ago to gauge where I stood and what my weaknesses where and i made a 62% ( and "FAILED" popped up! HORRIBLE feeling!) So i knew i needed to hit the books HARD!

DAY OF EXAM:

  • I reviewed the notes I had made and listened to the Peds Derm lecture on the way there...which completely helped since Roseola showed up!
  • That's all i can think of! It was really worded very easily and didn't seem to be tricky in any way. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!!

Specializes in women's health, NICU.
Hello, I am proud to say that I just passed the AANP exam for FNP. I have been reading this site for a while and thought I would give my input and tips.

REVIEW:

[*]I attended Hollier's review in May, it was a good refresher and start to my studying.

[*]Fitzgerald CD's and review book. Listened to CD's in my car on the way to and from clinicals and work! Review book was a wonderful reference for school and the BIG DAY!

[*]Leik's fast facts on my kindle. I LOVED the layout (danger signs, summaries, questions..) and i think the questions on my review most reflected the questions in BOTH Leik's and Fitzgerald books. (scored around a 70% consistently on these questions).

[*]NOT VERY HELPFUL--> Winland-Brown & Dunphy's review questions and strategies w/ CD ROM. The questions were very obscure, difficult, and did not represent the questions on the test. Still good to review because of the rationale but also lead to a bit of anxiety (I was scoring 40-70% on these exams!)

[*]"Family Nurse Practitioner Exam Secrets"- 2 smaller condensed books with several typos and not alot of pharm...still and easy read and helped drill s/sx and terms into my head (and it was cheap! around $35).

[*]Our program required us to take a Proctored FNP HESI exam and I scored an 87% which was a HUGE confidence boost!

[*]I paid $50 on the AANP 75 question practice about a month ago to gauge where I stood and what my weaknesses where and i made a 62% ( and "FAILED" popped up! HORRIBLE feeling!) So i knew i needed to hit the books HARD!

DAY OF EXAM:

[*]I reviewed the notes I had made and listened to the Peds Derm lecture on the way there...which completely helped since Roseola showed up!

[*]Other topics on the test:

That's all i can think of! It was really worded very easily and didn't seem to be tricky in any way. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!!

[*]

[*]

This is good to know! Thank you for sharing .....I take mine in a couple weeks, and I'm a little nervous! I've been doing Hollier CDs, Fitzgerald CDs, and her workbook, in addition to practice questions at familynpprep.com. These topics are comply asked questions on the familynpprep.com website too, so I know where to focus my studying.

Congratulation! I just passed the AANP two days ago. I found that the Barkley review course rocked. I felt that the test was very challenging. All clinically based with very complex scenarios.

I am SO HAPPY I saw this. I reviewed the information on this board and saw the tips the DAY before the exam while just 'searching' FNP tips. I happened to see all the topics, and saw most similar questions you put up and the exact what does pancreas secret to inhibit hypoglycemia? I didn't know what the pancreas scecreted and decided to look it up before I left my house and what did you know! I had a similar question to that!!

and PASSSED. What a great feeling & relief!

Good luck to all, GREAT TIPS!

Tips from me:

I used Fitzgerald books, her CDs, Hollier's question book her CD an Leik. I didn't like Leik that much because her answers didn't give rationale answers. I also purchased a simulation 150 question from APEA - Advanced Practice Education Associates I DEFINITELY reccomend this a few days or a week before the exam. It helped me prep to answer the same style-like questions like the boards and it timed you as well. Per APEA, if you scored 65-68% on it, it was highly likely that you'd pass the boards. The test generates a different test each time. I first took it a week before and got a 71% (for me I felt it was super low and too borderline before boards) I studied very hard for a couple more days, then retook another one and got 76%, that boosted my confidence and these tips helped!

Good luck all! :)

Julie

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

We ask that you not post specific topics that are on the tests as this can be considered an ethics violation. Thanks.

Thanks for all the info, very helpful for those of us that will be taking the test.

Well, all of this is good information. As far as ethics violations go, it is unethical to test people on topics that no one knows they will be tested on, besides the test makers. What is the point of giving an exam if no one knows what to study to take it? It is kind of like, "Look at us, we give you questions no one learned."

I will be taking the Adult/ Gerontology exam very soon! Very excited!

@Tammy,

Have you taken the exam? How was it. Could you please give more information on what to study? Thanks

Are the new JNC 8 guidelines fair game on the exam?

At my Fitzgerald review course that I just took they said yes, JNC 8 is fair game!!

I believe the JNC 8 is not on the exam this year for the AANP. I don't know about the ANCC. I know ANCC is changed their exam this August 2014. I was told by one of the presenters at the live review course that I attended this year that they are planning to add pictures of EKG or xray or something like that to ANCC exam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAUahzHXw7A - tips on how to study for the FNP exam

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