Passed the AANP on Second Attempt

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Hello All, 

I passed the AANP exam on my second attempt in August 2023 and I wanted to share my story to encourage those who did not pass on their first attempt or anyone needing guidance on how to study for the boards. 

I graduated from my DNP-FNP program in May 2023 and decided to take the boards (the first attempt) in July as I had preplanned to celebrate and travel after graduation. The beginning of June, I began studying. I decided to pay for a live review course from Latrina Walden. It was for two days, June 15-16 and I scheduled to take my boards on July 10th. To be honest, I did not have a set study plan. I use the live review course as a guide. I also used Leik and FNP Mastery. For Leik, I used the book as a reference to understand the material taught from Latrina Walden. I did not read the book from cover to cover. As for FNP Mastery, I did questions, but not enough. In addition, I made over 300 flashcards and reviewed those. At the time, I really felt that I studied my hardest. 

The day before the exam, I studied for half the day and was extremely stressed out. I was really hoping and praying that I passed on my first attempt as I wanted this exam to behind me. 

I scheduled to take the exam at 8 AM. I normally don't eat first thing in the morning but decided to eat a full meal to provide my brain the nutrients that it needed to take a 3-hour exam. I felt okay while taking the exam but there were some questions that I knew if I would have studied more, I would have been able to answer those questions. Furthermore, I changed about 3-5 of my answers and did not take a break. I had maybe about 30 minutes to spare after I finished all 150 questions. I prayed before hitting the submit button and was REALLY HOPING I did not have to take this exam again. I hit submit, and it stated, "NOT PASS". My heart sank. My husband picked me up and I cried because I felt I studied hard and did not understand how God have brought me so far and not pass. 

I gave myself permission to mope in my bed for a few hours. Afterward, I decided to suck it up and face the fact that I should have taken my studying more seriously. The same day, I got the Leik book and a highlighter, went from cover to cover to mark anything that I remembered from the exam. I then researched what I needed to do to retake the AANP exam. According to the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, you need to complete 15 CEUS before reapplying. It is also important to note that you can only take the AANP exam twice a calendar year. So, I knew that I needed to study extremely hard so that I did not have to wait until the following year to retake the exam. 

I am already a member with AANP. So, on their website there is a separate link to where you can complete CEUS and share the CEU certificates easily with the organization. I completed all CEUS within 2-3 days and resubmitted my application. It took about a week for the organization to give me the go to retest. I immediately looked for a test date that was exactly 4 weeks away. I received my testing score in the mail, and I got a 491, which the passing score is a 500. Of course, I was a bit frustrated but accepted it for what it was. 

I researched on YouTube different methods in studying for the boards and even purchased an excellent study schedule from ETSY that breaks down each section from the Leik book (Cover to Cover). I decided to purchase UWorld, which I used when I studied for the NCLEX. Do not hesitate to purchase UWorld. If you do purchase from UWorld, do not focus on your percentage as this resource is only used to help you understand the material. It also provides EXCELLENT rationales with pictures. I completed the entire question bank from Leik (about 800 questions) and UWorld (about 1100 questions). I followed the study schedule, and I did about 40-50 questions each day from UWorld, even on the "rest" days. On the last week, I decided to do 150 questions from UWorld 2 times that week (to reprepare myself for the exam), which allowed me to complete the question bank faster. During the second to last week, the study schedule had me reread the Leik book, cover to cover, about 3 times, and I did all the practice questions twice. 

I decided to reschedule my exam for 11 am instead of 8 am to give myself time to review any content that I was a little shaky on. In addition, DRINK MY COFFEE and WAKE UP! I didn't eat a full meal this time around as I normally don't eat until around 12 pm. I wanted to keep the same schedule as I did during the 4 weeks of studying. 

The day before my exam I spoke nothing but positivity. I stated, "I WILL PASS IN JESUS NAME" "I AM GOING TO ACE THIS EXAM".  "I KNOW I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO PASS THIS EXAM SUCCESSFULLY". I even went far to do the superhero pose every time I felt worried. I got this from grey's anatomy .

On the day of the exam, I went into the bathroom of the testing site, and did the superhero pose. I went in and began the exam. The exam was way easier than before as I knew my studying paid off. I even had a strategy to start from question 150 and work my way down. I decided to take a break and drink some water, eat a snack, and walk for a little bit. I went back and finished with an hour to spare. I only changed one answer that I absolutely knew was not correct. I hit submit and saw that I PASSED. I thanked Jesus and felt such a weight come off my shoulders! 

I am glad to share my testimony with you all. This really taught me the meaning behind "Faith without works is dead.” In addition to, we make our plans, but God is the one that directs our steps. If you need any help or encouragement, please feel free to reach out. 

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Hi congratulations, 

Faith without work is just fantasy. What is the name of the study guide you purchase from Etsy? Thanks 

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Hi, there it's called AANP FNP CERTIFICATION STUDY SCHEDULE on ETSY.

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Hi, for you still have the free study materail

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Hey there, 

I do not, sorry. However, I can definitely give you a list of resources. The main book to grab is LEIK.

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Hi! I can't find AANP FNP CERTIFICATION STUDY SCHEDULE on Etsy. :((. I didn't pass the AANP twice and I'm scheduled to take it in January. I really want to use this since you said that it's kind of goes along with LEIK. Do you mind attaching the Etsy link for this so I can purchase it so that I know I'm getting the right one?????

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@Pinkcherry91 Hey there, of course! I'm sorry that you didn't pass, but I'm confident you will next time! Here's the link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1164989048/AANP-FNP-certification-exam-study-plan?ref=yr_purchases

I also strongly recommended purchasing the UWorld FNP and completing the entire QBank if you have time: https://nursing.UWorld.com/FNP/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAyp-sBhBSEiwAWWzTnm0dSvUPG1JWsUiZaK-jDMO2-y1Q51NRy1VKQXOm4tZucrr25l3ABhoC15gQAvD_BwE

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! If you need anymore help let me know! 

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faithwithoutworks said:

Hi, there it's called AANP FNP CERTIFICATION STUDY SCHEDULE on ETSY.

thank you

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Thank you for your help!

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Specializes in FNP.

Hello, Thank you!! I test soon and I'm super nervous. I trust God fully to guide me though????

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For everyone that's testing, Tolentino NP reviews group on facebook offers free 4 hour sessions of high yield topics that are on the AANP and the ANCC. If I would've found out about him sooner, I would've literally just used Tolentino, the SG that faithwithoutworks shared, and the leik Q Bank. I literally passed because of his reviews without spending a dime on the reviews. 

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Specializes in PACU.

Thanks for posting. I'm taking my test in June and I'm freaking out. 

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