2020 ANCC PMHNP exam prep...tips, suggestions please!

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Hello everyone! I am new to this site and it appears to be the best place to ask questions related to the ANCC PMHNP review and exam. I just finished my PMHNP cert program at National University June 2020 and I am planning on taking the ANCC PMHNP exam next month.

Would anyone care to share their tips on how to be successful such as what review reference is the best tool to use in preparation for the exam? I would greatly appreciate everyone's experience on what you think helped you the most in passing the new version 2019 PMHNP CERT exam.

I'm looking into using the following;

1. ANCC Purple book 4th edition

2. PMHNP Pocketprep app
3. Picmonic

4 ANCC PMHNP exam practice questions
5. Lantern Review

Kind regards,

Diego

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Hello Diego,

I passed the ANCC PMHNP exams last week. I did just two things. I used Board Vitals which has 1,790 practice questions to study in study mode, to go over all the questions, then l repeated all the questions in the bank in examination mode timed. I had an overall score of 85% on Board Vitals. I went in to take the exams feeling well prepared. Most of the questions appeared very Familia. I was able to figure some of the answers out midway reading the question without looking at the answers. I knew I had passed halfway into the test.

I can frantically say that practicing questions and reading the rationales exposes you to broader content areas.

My second prep material was using Quiz let. There are lots of study materials for PMHNP ANCC prep.

I hope this helps!

Cindy PMHNP-BC

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Thank you @Cindy F for the tip and CONGRATS for passing the PMHNP boards! I too am doing the Board Vitals and will also look into Quizlet. Follow up question, did you think that the board questions were more of an entry level type questions? And was there any specific subject matter you would recommend to focus on when doing board vitals?

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Thank you,

Yes, the board questions were more of entry-level type questions. Board vital questions are very difficult, but l think it forces you to think outside the box. Most of the Board questions are kind of general knowledge, some are common sense. The right answers stand our If only you know your content. about 80% of the questions were clinical questions. Board vitals has about 591 diagnoses and treatment questions. do not waste your time on the calculations and the standard deviations, t-test, etc question on board vitals. I had no calculations. Also, you will not be allowed to use calculators or any device during the test. A few policy questions, about dementia, screening tools, alcohol and drug screening and can be found on Quizlet.

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Hi, I took the exam yesterday and passed.

~I used Board Vitals, the ANCC Practice IQ (https://www.nursingworld.org/continuing-education/psychiatric-mental-health-nurse-practitioner-certi3/), and The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Review Manual (https://www.amazon.com/Psychiatric-Mental-Health-Practitioner-Certification-Review/dp/0826179428/ref=sr_1_3?crid=P0TX4H6GFQWF&dchild=1&keywords=pmhnp+certification+review+book&qid=1595814201&sprefix=pmhnp%2Caps%2C335&sr=8-3).

~I also watched the Memorable Psychopharmacology series on Youtube and took notes. Excellent pharm review.

~Like many others have stated, the questions on Board Vitals are complex and comprehensive. If you feel you need to learn the material I think this is a good resource but otherwise, the other ones will suffice.

~I thought the review book was great and easy to read. I have not seen the ANCC version but, judging from reviews, it sounds similar but at twice the cost. The book I got comes with online access to tests, which I thought were very helpful.

~The ANCC test IQ is excellent and great practice for the exam itself.

~I used the scratch paper during the exam to write down basic test strategy tips (Maslow, identify question stems, ADPIE, least invasive/most cost-effective first!, etc.). You can highlight parts of the question during the exam to pinpoint what exactly needs to be answered (terms like "safest, best, most effective, do first"). I did this when taking practice tests and it really helped. (Speaking of practice tests, read the rationales for both correct and incorrect answers carefully and take notes!!)

If I could do it differently, I would not have bothered with BVs and just focused on the other resources. My strategy for test-taking is to answer every question and then go back and double-check the answers. I did this and finished the exam in just under two hours. Do not spend tons of money on multiple resources that are offering the exact same material. Just find a study plan that works best for you, be consistent, and know the content well. There is nothing "tricky" about the questions and the information the ANCC gives us to prepare is spot on.

Best of luck!

1
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Thank you @lulasuerte for your tips and btw congratulations for passing the boards! I am scheduled to take the PMHNP board exams on Aug 14 at home using the remote Prometric testing option. I have been studying daily and have taken note of @Cindy F’s tips and glad to hear some tips from you that helped you successfully pass your boards. Hopefully I too would be successful and count myself among your board certified ranks God willing. Thank you again ?

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Specializes in PMHNP.
On 7/28/2020 at 5:12 PM, Diego Silang said:

Thank you @lulasuerte for your tips and btw congratulations for passing the boards! I am scheduled to take the PMHNP board exams on Aug 14 at home using the remote Prometric testing option. I have been studying daily and have taken note of @Cindy F’s tips and glad to hear some tips from you that helped you successfully pass your boards. Hopefully I too would be successful and count myself among your board certified ranks God willing. Thank you again ?

Hiii! Wondering how your exam went? And what you found to be the most helpful ? I take mine the 19th and am SO nervous.

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Specializes in PMHNP.
On 7/26/2020 at 7:18 PM, lulasuerte said:

Hi, I took the exam yesterday and passed.

~I used Board Vitals, the ANCC Practice IQ (https://www.nursingworld.org/continuing-education/psychiatric-mental-health-nurse-practitioner-certi3/), and The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Review Manual (https://www.amazon.com/Psychiatric-Mental-Health-Practitioner-Certification-Review/dp/0826179428/ref=sr_1_3?crid=P0TX4H6GFQWF&dchild=1&keywords=pmhnp+certification+review+book&qid=1595814201&sprefix=pmhnp%2Caps%2C335&sr=8-3).

~I also watched the Memorable Psychopharmacology series on Youtube and took notes. Excellent pharm review.

~Like many others have stated, the questions on Board Vitals are complex and comprehensive. If you feel you need to learn the material I think this is a good resource but otherwise, the other ones will suffice.

~I thought the review book was great and easy to read. I have not seen the ANCC version but, judging from reviews, it sounds similar but at twice the cost. The book I got comes with online access to tests, which I thought were very helpful.

~The ANCC test IQ is excellent and great practice for the exam itself.

~I used the scratch paper during the exam to write down basic test strategy tips (Maslow, identify question stems, ADPIE, least invasive/most cost-effective first!, etc.). You can highlight parts of the question during the exam to pinpoint what exactly needs to be answered (terms like "safest, best, most effective, do first"). I did this when taking practice tests and it really helped. (Speaking of practice tests, read the rationales for both correct and incorrect answers carefully and take notes!!)

If I could do it differently, I would not have bothered with BVs and just focused on the other resources. My strategy for test-taking is to answer every question and then go back and double-check the answers. I did this and finished the exam in just under two hours. Do not spend tons of money on multiple resources that are offering the exact same material. Just find a study plan that works best for you, be consistent, and know the content well. There is nothing "tricky" about the questions and the information the ANCC gives us to prepare is spot on.

Best of luck!

Thank you for this! I take my test in less than 2 days. Eeeek!

I also have been using the ANCC IQ question bank, as well as the online practice questions/exam for the The Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Review Manual. I have been retaking the IQ question bank exams and reading all rationales. The only additional thing I've done is make a few flashcards of concepts I can't remember (Erikson's stages, labs, therapies, etc). I found for the NCLEX that answering practice questions and reading rationales was the most helpful, so I'm hoping it's the same for this exam. Is that how you felt?

Thanks again!

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Has anyone had issues getting the link to open when purchasing the ANCC practice IQ ?

I’ve been trying for hours, even called Apple support and they said it was the site itself. Any help is much appreciated. TIA

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Specializes in PMHNP.
16 hours ago, myname8484 said:

Has anyone had issues getting the link to open when purchasing the ANCC practice IQ ?

I’ve been trying for hours, even called Apple support and they said it was the site itself. Any help is much appreciated. TIA

https://www.nursingworld.org/continuing-education/psychiatric-mental-health-nurse-practitioner-certi3/

I didn’t have any issues on my MacBook Pro?

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Hi,

I plan to take the PMHNP boards in March 2023 and was hoping to get some advice in what everyone felt was the best study tools for 2 months. I have reviewed the entire purple book and did the QI questions for ANCC. Are there any other test banks that people have found very beneficial. Thank you!

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