AANP - Exam help/study suggestions

nursjenn · Jun 18, 2014

Do you have Leik's book "Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Intensive Review"?

Her book goes into a lot of detail about that.

DrMoya2014 · Jun 22, 2014

I just passed the FNP AANP last week and I would highly suggest utilizing the Leik book and also doing a bunch of practice questions from the APEA website (I did the Q-bank unlimited questions) and then I also did the AANP predictor exam as well. I found that it was set up just like the real exam so when I took it I just mentally pretended I was doing another practice exam (made me feel more at ease and I felt very prepared). Prayers for you and best wishes.

Wakes · Jul 15, 2014

Thanks. I take my exam this Friday. Super nervous. I did the practice exam on the AANP website and failed it by 3%. I'm so nervous. I keep overthinking simple questions and probably missed 6-7 easy ones. Any last advice?

Adenium · Jul 15, 2014

I found going thru APEA sample questions to be the easiest/most helpful thing to do as I got close to the exam. It was more pleasant to do that than try to reread study material which got harder and harder to concentrate on.

That and looking over abx tables for common conditions which I had trouble memorizing. Flashcards of stuff I kept forgetting too. Just know you'll probably see some questions on things you aren't familiar with, but that it's OK. I was afraid I'd fail if I didn't know everything in the review books but I passed anyway.

Wakes · Jul 18, 2014

well i failed. I felt like the sample test on aanp was nothing like the actual exam.. what do I do?? I feel sick and discouraged.

Adenium · Jul 18, 2014

Sorry to hear that! Did you feel there was anything in particular that was tougher?

In any case the letter from AANP will only give you vague categories for weak areas like assessment/planning/evaluation so if you want to retake AANP I'd just get started on the 15 CE credits or whatever they require. Were you able to get thru the study materials you had? I didn't have time for Leik but it's highly recommended. Did you feel when you were going thru questions that you understood the rationales or why they selected the right answer?

I know it must be discouraging but that doesn't mean you won't be successful on a second try. If you felt up to studying research/ethics/theory you could register for ANCC and see if that exam style works better for you.

NaturalFNP · Jul 18, 2014

Hi Wakes, I took my exam in June and passed on the first try, BUT it was not easy! I attended Apea's review, and bought the tapes. I listened to them EVERY single day from sun up to sun down, as well as the Q-bank questions. I bought 25 of the AANP bundle questions, and read Leik's fast fact and did the questions at the end of the book. I ate, drank, and slept review questions and studied for 8-12hrs a day for 6 weeks. I don't know if you're religious, but I prayed while doing the work. I was bound and determined to pass that exam. I don't think that I would have passed it if I had not studied the way that I did. Go ahead and grieve today, but tomorrow get back on the saddle. When your scores come back you can go from there. I felt that Amelie was dead on as far as the exam is concerned. Good Luck!!!

Wakes · Jul 21, 2014

I studied the Fitzgerald book back to front. I felt like on the exam there were topics that I had never seen before. I plan on reading the Leik book. Are there CD's you recommend to buy?? And how do I get the final say on pass/fail? Will it show up on the website or will it be a letter sent to my house? Thanks.

Adenium · Jul 21, 2014

The AANP will send a letter with your score and a listing of categories like planning or diagnosis or evaluation that really aren't helpful at all. Mine listed from strongest to weakest. Did you start your reapplication and CEs, or are you going to try ANCC instead?

I think the Leik book is a good idea. I would also suggest either the APEA/Hollier Qbank or book of questions. For me, that was the most similar to the exam, but many people say Leik is very close as well. It just doesn't give you as many questions. I had the APEA book only - they told me when I called that buying the Qbank or predictor tests would really give me the same questions. I found them helpful, though yes there will likely still be things on the exam that you don't recognize and haven't seen in a review. I think they plan it to be that way, and expect you'll have to make your best guess or a well-reasoned answer.

Maybe you just had bad luck in the mix of questions that particular day, and happened to have more that you didn't happen to be familiar with. I'm not sure how much they vary from one exam to the next, but hopefully the next one will be it.

NaturalFNP · Jul 21, 2014

Hi Wakes,

I sold my cd's/review books to my friend who will be graduating in 2015. You can purchase them on apea.com Make sure to get the 2014 version. You should receive results in the mail, and it should have your areas of weakness. If you call AANP they will tell you what you need to do. I understand about seeing things on the exam you never saw before. It seems as though I had a lot of cardiac and womens health. Amelie reviewed cardiac and murmurs in a way that I will never forget. You will pass it the next time :yes:

Wakes · Aug 2, 2014

Did you feel that the CD's helped?? And Anyone know where I can do the 15 CE's required. It says to do it in my "areas of weakness" I'm not sure exactly how to find CE's like that. Or can I just do 15 hours worth of random ones and get it done with?