Failed AANP first try.. PASSED my second try!

[HaNP2020]

Hello Everyone! 
 

I wanted to share with you guys my story with the AANP exam. I passed a few days ago and couldn't be more happier that it's over. However, it wasn't an easy road, so I thought I'd share with you guys some tips to help you pass! Now that I passed, I'm not ashamed to admit I failed my first time taking the AANP exam. Going into this exam, I studied for roughly 3 weeks, about 6-10 hours on my days off. After failing, I studied for another 3 weeks and passed! I used four resources, which I'll share with you now. 
 

Leik Review book & questions

This is a must have to pass this exam. I personally don't retain information well by reading books, however, Leik's exam tips at the end of each section was so helpful and did help me answer a few questions on my exam. What helped me the most with her review book, was the questions that are provided with the book. I downloaded the app on my phone and answered all 725 questions 5 times and read the rationales! Although, I felt like her questions were in some cases easier than the actual exam, they were still very helpful in answering questions on my exam related to the topics I seen in her questions. If there were topics I didn't understand, I would find it in the book and read about it. The way she breaks down each topic does make it easier to understand. 
 

Latrina Walden Bronze Crash Course

Wow. Going into studying for my exam, I heard a lot about Latrina Walden's review, but never gave her review a chance until I failed the AANP the first time. Let me just say, I'm convinced she writes the exam!! She gives these "buzz words" which helps you identify certain disease processes. When I tell you she was spot on with buzz words that helped me identify illnesses and treatments on my exam, I promise I'm not lying. She has different types of reviews, but I went with the $65 bronze crash course. It has four parts, one hour long for each. This is a MUST HAVE for this exam. I watched her review countless of times until I could literally quote everything she says. I can honestly say her review provided me with information for 70% of my exam. My honest opinion, you can pass with the  Leik book and Walden's review only. 
 

FNP Mastery App

This app was definitely helpful in knowing how to answer all the different types of questions and topics you can see on the exam. It does have pictures and select all that apply questions which will be beneficial for the ANCC exam. There are no pictures or select all that apply on the AANP! These questions were definitely harder than Leik's review questions, but gave me a better understanding of certain topics. These questions though, can be similar to NCLEX style where two answer choices can be correct, but one is best. With the AANP exam, only one answer is correct!! The FNP Mastery app has roughly 1600 questions! And was $40. 

YouTube Videos 

Yes, I watched YouTube videos! There are plenty of videos provided by educators on certain things like the Rinne & Webber test, heart murmurs, musculoskeletal signs and tests, etc..

Exam Tips

Go into this exam feeling confident. My first time taking the exam, I let my testing anxiety get the best of me. I didn't breakdown the questions, and would get frustrated when I didn't know what it was asking. After taking my exam the first time, I realized after there were so many questions I actually knew, but not breaking down the question stopped me from answering correctly. First time taking the test, I marked 50 questions with only 10 minutes left on my exam to review the 50 I had marked. Second time taking the exam, I marked 18 with 40 minutes left to review. I would read the question, look at the answer choices (I would select what I thought is right) read the question again, then confirm my answer. I caught myself missing words, such as "except" but noticed it the second time I read the question. If I wasn't too sure, I would mark it then move on. STICK WiTH YOUR GUT FEELING!! I didn't spend too much sitting there on a question. At some moments, I would mark a question, move on, then remember the answer to it randomly later on. I didn't change any of my answers unless I realized I missed a word such as "except" or "sufficient" Latrina Walden's review provided me with BUZZ WORDS, which was so helpful in answering questions!! Again, I can't stress enough how helpful her review was. Remember, only one answer choice is the correct one and the other three are wrong! With almost every question, I could throw out two answer choices that were completely wrong. Take a deep breath when feeling anxious or frustrated, and don't let testing anxiety get the best of you! 

Good luck, everyone!! You got this! 

 

 

[Julie]

Congratulations @HaNP2020 and thanks for sharing your tips and encouragement.  Good luck and keep us informed at allnurses® of your future achievements! 

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

Congratulations! I had not heard of Latrina Walden's courses, I'll check that out. 

[MultiTasker33]

Congrats on passing your exam. I believe I am looking at the Bronze Package that you referred to, however, it is $125/month & not $65. Is this the correct item? Thank you. 

[HaNP2020]

1 hour ago, MultiTasker33 said:

Congrats on passing your exam. I believe I am looking at the Bronze Package that you referred to, however, it is $125/month & not $65. Is this the correct item? Thank you. 

Hey! I just went on her website, it looks like doubled her price for the bronze crash course. When I took the AANP exam, her course was $65. However, I know her price doubled, but her course was definitely worth it. I wrote notes on everything she said and in all honesty, I know her course helped me with more than half of the questions on my exam. Good luck!!