More tips for the AANP FNP exam

Published Feb 9, 2013

1 Post

Hi all, I took the AANP 2 days ago and passed! I've been lurking here for a while and since I found many of the posts about the certification exams helpful I thought I'd try to give back to this community.

While I was going through the questions they felt very difficult, but as I reviewed them before ending the test, I realized that they were mostly straight forward and it was my test anxiety that made them feel hard! So my first piece of advice is breathe! I know everyone says that, but it really is true. You've been through years of school and clinicals, you know this stuff!

I took the the AANP practice test about a week before my exam. It gave me confidence and let me know what I really needed to brush up on before the test. After the practice test I was able to focus my studying in those last few, critical days.

Most of the questions on my test were factual and about more common complaints, things you probably saw in clinicals.

- Know medication classes, how they're used and when they're not used (contraindications and cautions).

-Know which labs give you what information and don't worry about memorizing values.

-Know what types of imaging/tests are appropriate for different body areas/disease types.

-Memorize developmental milestones and anticipatory guidance

I found Fitzgerald lectures and books most helpful for this type of material.

The critical thinking type questions were often set up as scenarios in which they gave the pt's signs and symptoms, then asked some thing like: what to do first, or what med would be most appropriate, etc. Most of these were pretty straight forward, too, but look for the hints in the set-up - things like age, ethnicity, co-morbidities. I found the "Question Dissection and Analysis" chapter in the Leik book very helpful in getting through these questions.

Finally, a heads up...before you get your final result they ask if you want to take a survey. I was shocked - I can't imagine who thought it was a good idea to put a survey before the pass or fail screen! Then, on my test, after the survey screen the directions for how to take the test popped up again. I don't know if that's typical or if it was a computer glitch, but it just about made my head explode!

Good luck everyone...and one more time, YOU KNOW THIS STUFF!