AANP - passed! And some advice

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

4 and a half months after finishing school (clinical only, actually), 3 exam re-reschedules, and a bunch of nervousness the last few days, I took the AANP exam and passed! I picked up some study tips/advice from other users on this forums so I figured I'd share what worked for me.

I used Fitzgerald, Leik, and APEA lecture/guides. Fitzgerald is great for pure content. It doesn't offer any supplementary practice questions aside from the few in the book and it has quite a bit of repeated content throughout the chapters. Leik's text was AMAZING and of any recommendations, it is a MUST for study resources. Leik's text has both content and plenty of practice questions. The content is significantly broken down to stuff you need/should know for each section/specialty/topic for the exam. I would highly recommend paying attention to the boxed Notes, Clinical Pearls, and Exam Tips that are provided for each section, but at the same time don't only focus on those, you should be focusing on everything. The biggest downside of Leik's online testing is that the 4 practice exams are the exact same questions that were put in each topic. So you aren't being tested on anything new. APEA lectures are great to get you engaged, especially if you are a visual/hearing learner rather than just reading. Amelie is a great instructor (co-owner of APEA), very engaging, and she's hilarious as well as the other lecturers. They have a syllabus with a nice breakdown for each topic/section so you know what you need to focus more on. They are great at helping you understand boring systems/charts such as HIV lab testing, hematology, etc and they make it quick and easy for you pick up and remember those boring concepts.

I believe the typical recommendation was doing at least 3 hours of study per day with a break after every hour. Of course we each study differently but I pretty much followed this concept. I studied just about 2.5 months. My first month started off with Fitzgerald to get the content back into my head. Next, I went through the APEA lectures and syllabus. Prices might seem a lot, but you will not regret paying for and watching their lectures. The last month primarily consisted of going entirely through Leik's textbook. The last 2 weeks focused on doing Leik's supplementary tests for each topic and all 4 practice exams as well as briefly going over the specific exam tips/clinical pearls from the book. I also went over APEA syllabus as well. I had intentions of doing the APEA predictor exams but by this time, I had already rescheduled my exam for a 3rd time and I was already getting burned out doing all of Leik's questions. I do regret not doing a few other practice exams from other providers like APEA because as I had previously mentioned, the 4 practice exams from Leik are ALL repeated questions. Hope this advice helps!

[Mergirlc, MSN, APRN, NP]

Thanks for your tips!  Much appreciated!

[Nursefairy6]

Hi!

Thanks for sharing your tips. I am sitting for the AANP soon. Can you share your experiences on the questions? Is it straight forward? Are there no clinical questions? Are Leik's questions helpful and similar to those on the exam? 

 

Thank you so much!

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

Nursefairy6 said:

Hi!

Thanks for sharing your tips. I am sitting for the AANP soon. Can you share your experiences on the questions? Is it straight forward? Are there no clinical questions? Are Leik's questions helpful and similar to those on the exam? 

 

Thank you so much!

Straightforward. Similar to Leik's style in my opinion which is why I highly recommend it as a resource. I'd say there was a good amount of clinical questions, probably more-so than knowledge-based questions. 

[Nursefairy6]

barcode120x said:

Straightforward. Similar to Leik's style in my opinion which is why I highly recommend it as a resource. I'd say there was a good amount of clinical questions, probably more-so than knowledge-based questions. 

Thanks so much for sharing. That was my fault... Darn typo. Meant to ask if there were "non clinical questions". I have read Leik's book and attended her review. Just nervous... Thanks again!

[Nursefairy6]

Hi,

Just following up to see if you can share any test taking strategies for the AANP. I am one of those bad test takers. 

Thanks so much!

[Mergirlc, MSN, APRN, NP]

barcode120x said:

Straightforward. Similar to Leik's style in my opinion which is why I highly recommend it as a resource. I'd say there was a good amount of clinical questions, probably more-so than knowledge-based questions. 

I'm a visual learner.....If you had to choose between Fitzgerald and APEA, which one would you go for?   

I already have Leik, so I need to get an additional resource and am bouncing back and forth between Fitzgerald and APEA.

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

Mergirlc said:

I'm a visual learner.....If you had to choose between Fitzgerald and APEA, which one would you go for?   

I already have Leik, so I need to get an additional resource and am bouncing back and forth between Fitzgerald and APEA.

If you don't mind paying, I would definitely choose APEA because they offer seminars. Amelie Hollier and co are excellent, fun, enthusiastic lecturers which is why I highly recommend doing their seminars (in person for remote/virtual). Other than that, I can't see much else you can do visually except watching other resources off the web like YouTube (which I never did). Fitzgerald's text which was VERY dry, but has all the pure content you need while Leik is more condensed.