ACHPN exam?

time2go, MSN, RN, NP · Oct 16, 2020

I took it twice, passed the second time and there were not many similarities between the two. Seems they concentrate on hospital palliative things more than hospice. I remember when I took the CHPN a few years ago, it was heavy on hospice. Not so on the ACHPN in my experience. I honestly could not begin to suggest a study source but Palliativelove, your experience probably has you more prepared than I. I've always done home hospice.

Palliativelove · Oct 16, 2020

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. There is so little information on this test in regards to what to study. Thank you for your input and congratulations again!

db2xs · Oct 16, 2020

It would be wonderful if the APRN palliative care community could get it together and provide adequate training and test materials, etc. I feel frustrated by the lack of organization and support.

I don't know if this will help me but my medical director let me borrow his books that he used for his palliative care board certification (there are nine of them!). I am going to read them cover to cover!

time2go, MSN, RN, NP · Oct 28, 2020

I could never find a definitive recommendation for pre-test study and review. Seems like experience is the only thing that absolutely will help but you know how that goes. Like with the NCLEX, what you learn in school is different from what you learn in practice.

Palliativelove · Dec 9, 2020

I agree that we should get together and pit together good content for study materials. I am taking my test Friday and feel very unsure. ☹️?

Romy Liese, MSN, RN, NP · Feb 7, 2021

On 12/9/2020 at 4:57 AM, Palliativelove said:

I agree that we should get together and pit together good content for study materials. I am taking my test Friday and feel very unsure. ☹️?

I'm curious to know how you did! I hope all is well in your Palliative corner.

I'm also inpatient PC NP and I'm wanting to certify ACHPN. I've been at this role for quite some time now, but funny how despite a year and a half into it, I still lack the confidence!

Palliativelove · Feb 28, 2021

Unfortunately, I missed it by five points and having to retake the exam again. I was so devastated initially but I try to remember that it takes courage to take this certification so early in practice. I retake for a second time this coming Friday.

db2xs · Mar 3, 2021

On 2/28/2021 at 3:21 AM, Palliativelove said:

I retake for a second time this coming Friday.

Good for you! Chin up! I'm taking it the end of this month.

PCNP · Jan 22, 2022

I recently passed this exam on first try back in December of 2021 and can share my tips for studying.

1. I took the self-guided review course that is offered by HPNA. I found it helpful in framing the areas that I needed to review more.

2. I mainly focused on the symptom chapters in the Core Curriculum. I find this review book to be quite cumbersome. I appreciate the need/want to include NPs/specialists as co-authors for each chapter, however I found it too detailed/overwhelming for a test that is a bit more generalized.

3. Review questions are the most helpful. I only had about two weeks to really study for this. I used the review questions at the end of each section as a guide as to whether I should do more in depth review of content areas. I also purchased the HPNA practice exam, which I believe is 50 questions or so. I would also take the FastFacts Quiz, which is about 150 questions and comes with rationales.

4. I also if you have access to CAPC. I would suggest doing some of their modules and do the questions after.

I would say, in sum, it was not the easiest test and it was not the worst. I felt that I could possibly study more and was genuinely surprised when I told I passed. They tell you your results instantly.

Best of luck to whoever takes this exam in the future!

matthewandrew, NP · Jan 22, 2022

1 hour ago, PCNP said:

I recently passed this exam on first try back in December of 2021 and can share my tips for studying.

1. I took the self-guided review course that is offered by HPNA. I found it helpful in framing the areas that I needed to review more.

2. I mainly focused on the symptom chapters in the Core Curriculum. I find this review book to be quite cumbersome. I appreciate the need/want to include NPs/specialists as co-authors for each chapter, however I found it too detailed/overwhelming for a test that is a bit more generalized.

3. Review questions are the most helpful. I only had about two weeks to really study for this. I used the review questions at the end of each section as a guide as to whether I should do more in depth review of content areas. I also purchased the HPNA practice exam, which I believe is 50 questions or so. I would also take the FastFacts Quiz, which is about 150 questions and comes with rationales.

4. I also if you have access to CAPC. I would suggest doing some of their modules and do the questions after.

I would say, in sum, it was not the easiest test and it was not the worst. I felt that I could possibly study more and was genuinely surprised when I told I passed. They tell you your results instantly.

Best of luck to whoever takes this exam in the future!

I passed March 2020. I honestly was surprised too that I passed. It was a pretty challenging exam and wasn’t sure of all my answers. Congratulations! Keep advancing the palliative nursing movement!

egonzaga.fnp · Jan 2, 2023

I know that this is an old post, but I want to share my experience. I recently took this exam (December 2022) and passed on my first try. I agree that there is not a lot of resources for studying this test. I studied the Core Curriculum for the Hospice and Palliative APRN and took the online ACHPN Certification course (valid for 3 months). I finished the core curriculum, but I wish that I had more time to study/read. The online review course was okay, it was a summary of the book. There was not a lot of sample questions in it. The HPNA offered a live review course, which I did not get to attend because it was after my test date. I hope someone who took the live review course can shed a light if it was worth it. I felt like this test was one of the harder exam I took (yes, harder than NP certification), because after using the process of elimination, the two answers left is a good answer, and you can argue both ways. ?‍♀️

Tips for studying? Read/Study in advance. ?

khushwinder.k · Jan 17, 2023

Hi ,thanks for sharing above information, I am curious to know how much time did you take to prepare. I am thinking about March, not sure if that is too early.

Thanks in advance