I failed my AANP twice. What should I do now?

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

AANP sends you a breakdown percentage of what you scored (I.e. 42% diagnosis, 85% treatment, etc). Look over where you scored on this exam and your previous exam and spend extra time on those areas. Think to yourself about how many questions you completely did not know the answer to. If it's 2 or 3 that's fine, maybe even 5, but I would say completely not knowing more than 5 questions might be a concern. Second guessing is a huge problem for myself and I told myself not to do it in this exam unless I knew for sure my initial answer was wrong by mistake with good rationale. How much time did you spend on both tests? Did you have any extra time? If you did, maybe spend extra time on harder questions. Utilize their marking system and bookmark questions that you are questioning and come back to it. As you have said, maybe test taking strategies is what you need to pass and not necessarily content.

As repetitive it may be, try reading content again from scratch. I started off my studying with Fitzgerald text. It is pretty in depth when it comes to content and unfortunately, it does have a lot of repeated content through the chapters but it just needs to be put into your head. I spent about a month slowly, thoroughly going through each chapter, highlighting, and writing in the book. In conjunction, I used Amelie's videos in between and would alternate between the two. After I read over Leik's text. The remaining month was focused on study questions in which I mainly used Leik's online practice questions. The disadvantage with Leik's text, is that there are many repeated questions that are in each chapter that are slotted into their online exams. When you do Leik's final comprehensive exam, most of the questions are just repeated questions from the previous exams offered on their website. It might be a good idea to look into a second source for practice exams. Nearing my last week of studying before my exam, I briefly went over exam tips and clinical pearls noted in Leik's and were a huge help in the exam.

Hope this helps. Don't give up and keep reading, practicing and go for it again. If you need time off, take time off. 

[BSN O.]

I am really sorry to hear about you not passing your exams. After I graduated in May 2022, I felt like I did not learn a thing from school. It went by so fast, there was hardly any time to grasp the information. I spent the next couple months teaching myself and studying hard. I was broke because I wasn't working while in school. I knew that I needed a review course and I began to search the internet. I was on a tight budget and all I kept seeing were these expensive review courses that costed hundreds and even over a thousand dollars. I finally for Shaira Cohen on YouTube and fell in love with her videos. There are a couple free videos on YouTube. I thought about purchasing her review course but kept having second thoughts and proctastinated for about a week. Eventually I told myself that I didn't have any money to purchase the big brand name stuff anyways so I might as well go for it. I did love her lectures though! She is super funny, and keeps it very interesting. I purchased her review "The Cohen review" and that was the best $180 I spent in a long time. I did not regret it one bit. I read the Leik book twice, did the Leik questions every day, and repeated multiple times for about two months. I did the practice full exams on the online questions that came with the book a few times as well. This prepared me to sit the actual exam. I would listen to the Cohen review in between doing these things as well. I played it in the house, doing chores, taking showers, drinving, and even letting it put me to bed. It is a great review. I passed both my AANP and ANCC exams using only these two sources. Total spent, about $240. I would try something different than what you were doing before and see if that helps. I will not say that the exams were easy, however, if you know the material you shouldn't have a problem. The exam to me just asked the questions in a different way to see if you truly know the material even when it is presented differently that what you are used to. God bless!

[uniqueguy34, BSN, MSN]

I am so sorry to hear about this . I failed it once, and soon will test again, basically before my first attempt, I did liek and FNP, that's a total of 2k questions , 

Im trying to figure out.. which bank I  should purchase , Sarah Michelle Qbank or APEA 

[londonflo]

kokofnp said:

it's the "harder" exam and feel that having SATA, pictures, and no lab values will not be in my favor.

Why not ? since you have failed twice, you need to regain your knowledge base, critical thinking, retrieving solutions from your educational experiences and apply that to your patients. A guess from me out of the blue but did you go to Walden?

[uniqueguy34, BSN, MSN]

kokofnp said:

Hello everyone,

I took my first exam end of July and failed with 476 score. I used mainly Leik but I didn't read the book as thoroughly as I probably should've. I also used Latrina Walden crash course the week prior. I felt confident walking in and was shocked when I failed.

So for my second attempt, I reread all of Leik, did all the quizzes and exams again (scoring high 80s and 90s on these but some of these are repetitive so yea), bought 2 PSI exams (1 was 72% and second was 58%), bought two APEA exams (1 was 57% and one was 49%), did a lot of FNP mastery questions and averaged 65% on these. I reviewed everything I didn't know from these exams. I also listened to some of Amellie Hollier's videos and took notes. I felt much much more prepared and told myself I know more, did more, I should pass. I failed again today (Oct 2022). I do not have my score yet but I know majority of the exam I felt that it wasn't too hard...of course there was stuff I didn't know but nothing to where I felt I would've failed again. I was in complete shock and cried to myself in the car right afterward. 

I am at a loss... I am a hard worker, I was a 3.9 GPA graduate from my program...I don't know what I am doing wrong anymore?? I am wondering if it is test taking strategies? I do second guess myself sometimes but did much less of that this time around. I do get anxiety during the exam but never had anxiety like this before. I have managed to find ways to calm myself during the exam... but I don't know what else to do..

I've already taken both attempts for AANP and can't retest until next year. I have debated signing up for ANCC but I know it's the "harder" exam and feel that having SATA, pictures, and no lab values will not be in my favor. I am feeling very very defeated and wonder if FNP is the career choice for me after all. It's also just getting so expensive to keep buying practice exams, or new review courses, plus paying for the exam?? I am just at a loss....

I am going to give you a couple of advice, I have failed and I am going to test again. I wish someone had directed me in the right direction before I tested the first time. I honestly thought that I was ready, but unfortunately I was not, it depends on the background knowledge that you obtain from the program, and how much materials you have dug through, for example I had to go through everything all over and teach myself all the materials that are related to the exam.. I literally have been studying since august, I am not embarrassed or afraid to say it, but at the end of the day once I pass, this will be a history.  Here is my advice to you: 

1. If you have not, go over the leik book once again and do all the questions in the back of the book

2. Do a review course, you don't have to go for the most expensive one, you might even go on YouTube and listen to some videos while driving to work or while lying in bed. Sometimes you learn better with listening.

3. Write down notes as you study, you can do the most expensive and the most thorough review course, but your notes will be the most specific as you study.. 

4. This is the most important piece of advice... ** Do questions and questions and questions and questions, even if you feel you are repeating yourself, keep practicing practicing and practicing... Eventually, some of the things that have not been sticking, they will stick and you will become faster at understanding the core of the questions... 

Definitely do the Sarah Michelle Q Bank .. I'm loving it 

Do exam edge .. buy 5 tests .. 

You may inbox me for more tips . 

[kokofnp]

uniqueguy34 said:

I am going to give you a couple of advice, I have failed and I am going to test again. I wish someone had directed me in the right direction before I tested the first time. I honestly thought that I was ready, but unfortunately I was not, it depends on the background knowledge that you obtain from the program, and how much materials you have dug through, for example I had to go through everything all over and teach myself all the materials that are related to the exam.. I literally have been studying since august, I am not embarrassed or afraid to say it, but at the end of the day once I pass, this will be a history.  Here is my advice to you: 

1. If you have not, go over the leik book once again and do all the questions in the back of the book

2. Do a review course, you don't have to go for the most expensive one, you might even go on YouTube and listen to some videos while driving to work or while lying in bed. Sometimes you learn better with listening.

3. Write down notes as you study, you can do the most expensive and the most thorough review course, but your notes will be the most specific as you study.. 

4. This is the most important piece of advice... ** Do questions and questions and questions and questions, even if you feel you are repeating yourself, keep practicing practicing and practicing... Eventually, some of the things that have not been sticking, they will stick and you will become faster at understanding the core of the questions... 

Definitely do the Sarah Michelle Q Bank .. I'm loving it 

Do exam edge .. buy 5 tests .. 

You may inbox me for more tips . I have a what's app group.

Hello, I am unable to P.M. you Also, thank you so much for your advice and guidance. I took some time off from studying as I've been planning my wedding. As soon as the wedding is over, I plan to die right back into it and get this exam over with. I found out that I failed by only eight points the second time I took it. Fairly devastated because I was close to passing both times.

[uniqueguy34, BSN, MSN]

kokofnp said:

Hello, I am unable to P.M. you Also, thank you so much for your advice and guidance. I took some time off from studying as I've been planning my wedding. As soon as the wedding is over, I plan to die right back into it and get this exam over with. I found out that I failed by only eight points the second time I took it. Fairly devastated because I was close to passing both times.

Believe me, I understand the frustration that this has brought you, I have been struggling with studying, but I learned a lot. I know I am not like an average student, I'm a special case unfortunately, I do suffer from brain fog and memory issues and it's hard for me to retain information so I would have to repeat myself over and over again. But we are in this together and we will not give up until we pass this exam and move on with our career.

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding, please take this off your mind for now and message me whenever you are ready and I will do the best I can to help you out.

Best regards 

[kokofnp]

3 hours ago, barcode120x said:

AANP sends you a breakdown percentage of what you scored (I.e. 42% diagnosis, 85% treatment, etc). Look over where you scored on this exam and your previous exam and spend extra time on those areas. Think to yourself about how many questions you completely did not know the answer to. If it's 2 or 3 that's fine, maybe even 5, but I would say completely not knowing more than 5 questions might be a concern. Second guessing is a huge problem for myself and I told myself not to do it in this exam unless I knew for sure my initial answer was wrong by mistake with good rationale. How much time did you spend on both tests? Did you have any extra time? If you did, maybe spend extra time on harder questions. Utilize their marking system and bookmark questions that you are questioning and come back to it. As you have said, maybe test taking strategies is what you need to pass and not necessarily content.

As repetitive it may be, try reading content again from scratch. I started off my studying with Fitzgerald text. It is pretty in depth when it comes to content and unfortunately, it does have a lot of repeated content through the chapters but it just needs to be put into your head. I spent about a month slowly, thoroughly going through each chapter, highlighting, and writing in the book. In conjunction, I used Amelie's videos in between and would alternate between the two. After I read over Leik's text. The remaining month was focused on study questions in which I mainly used Leik's online practice questions. The disadvantage with Leik's text, is that there are many repeated questions that are in each chapter that are slotted into their online exams. When you do Leik's final comprehensive exam, most of the questions are just repeated questions from the previous exams offered on their website. It might be a good idea to look into a second source for practice exams. Nearing my last week of studying before my exam, I briefly went over exam tips and clinical pearls noted in Leik's and were a huge help in the exam.

Hope this helps. Don't give up and keep reading, practicing and go for it again. If you need time off, take time off. 

Thank you so much for replying and offering your advice… this is really helpful. My main area of concern is usually assessment so I’m sure it’ll be that this time too. I did have extra time (30 mins) both exams so I did go over my bookmarked questions, but I definitely had at least 20 this time and maybe even closer to 30 the first time. So I think you’re right… Being unsure on more than five or six questions is definitely not a good indicator. I realize now that the biggest issue for me was that I knew exactly what the question was asking and I knew what answer I would give it, but those answer choices didn’t have the answer that I wanted. So I would often be stuck between picking what I think is the most appropriate and then second-guessing myself the other times. I think doing more questions will definitely be a lot more helpful because I don’t feel that I did nearly enough. I know people who did almost 2000 questions and I am probably barely sitting at the 650 question mark… being exposed to more questions and reviewing everything I miss when I take these questions I think will be very important this time around. I know the FNP Mastery app is very beneficial, but I can’t do questions on the go and take notes right away either. So I definitely need to look in to getting another program with practice questions…it’s just so defeating and disappointing, I am also very burnt out from studying over and over. I just wanna move on with my life already. But I’m going to tell myself to take the time to just continue and give it another shot. I’m taking the rest of the week off to let my mind rest and then I’ll start all over, and I’ll have my letter with the breakdown by then as well.

[BSN O.]

What resources are you using to prepare?

What state are you in 

[uniqueguy34, BSN, MSN]

kokofnp said:

Thank you so much for replying and offering your advice... this is really helpful. My main area of concern is usually assessment so I'm sure it'll be that this time too. I did have extra time (30 mins) both exams so I did go over my bookmarked questions, but I definitely had at least 20 this time and maybe even closer to 30 the first time. So I think you're right... Being unsure on more than five or six questions is definitely not a good indicator. I realize now that the biggest issue for me was that I knew exactly what the question was asking and I knew what answer I would give it, but those answer choices didn't have the answer that I wanted. So I would often be stuck between picking what I think is the most appropriate and then second-guessing myself the other times. I think doing more questions will definitely be a lot more helpful because I don't feel that I did nearly enough. I know people who did almost 2000 questions and I am probably barely sitting at the 650 question mark... being exposed to more questions and reviewing everything I miss when I take these questions I think will be very important this time around. I know the FNP Mastery app is very beneficial, but I can't do questions on the go and take notes right away either. So I definitely need to look in to getting another program with practice questions...it's just so defeating and disappointing, I am also very burnt out from studying over and over. I just wanna move on with my life already. But I'm going to tell myself to take the time to just continue and give it another shot. I'm taking the rest of the week off to let my mind rest and then I'll start all over, and I'll have my letter with the breakdown by then as well.

Hello, I hope all is going well with you and you probably had the wedding or still preparing, ? 

From what I have read, it looks like you did not have enough practice questions to tackle this exam. I personally believe that the biggest mistake people do is that they rush into scheduling their exam because they want to get it over with without doing enough preparation.

Although I failed the first time, I realized that I needed to use a different model of studying, and this included doing a lot more questions to the point where I will start to repeat myself and some of the contents will easily stick and become a routine, and even some of the harder topics will become more clear with repetition. 

I am going to be testing soon, I will report back and I hope it will be great news and I will write a very long and detailed testimonial on everything I did to benefit others . 

Comparing this time around to the previous time when I first started studying, I feel much better, much more confident, lots of topics have stuck in my mind to the point where I'm pretty sure I will find lots of questions super easy on the exam. 

AAgain, the trick here is learning in stages and doing more and more questions and it's okay to repeat yourself. I have done so far a total of 3,000 questions with rationales, I will go back and review the leak book questions, and I should be ready to go. Please give me an update on the status of your studying, you can always inbox me

***Last thing I want to add: this time around, I am using the leak book, the Sarah Michelle question bank, and the board vitals.. *** I honestly think if you do all of these questions and read the book, take notes as you go. You should feel super prepared.