Passed ANCC AGPCNP

[kjoyAGPCNP84]

DISCLAIMER: This is a LONG post...sorry :)

Like many others, I thought I'd write about my experience studying for and taking the ANCC AGPCNP exam. I passed the exam a few days ago which is a HUGE weight off my shoulders. Here's what my prep looked like, please keep in mind that I was very blessed to only be working part time while studying and preparing for the exam:

I graduated on May 8th of this year.

Took 5 weeks off of any and all studying. I feel this was a good idea because my brain needed to decompress, however, when it came time to start studying again it took a little bit to get going again.

I spoke with a lot of NP's about which review courses worked best for them. I ended up settling on the Fitzgerald online review course and ordered it on a Saturday. I had to wait until Monday evening to get my access code which was a little irritating. However, the review book showed up at my door by Tuesday or Wednesday that week. Once that arrived I was ready to go. (So I actually took closer to 6 weeks total off from studying due to waiting for the book, I was able to start my studies on June 19th).

The online lectures have a viewing limit of 4 times. I actually used up one view on each lecture to find out how long each lecture was so I could plot out my study schedule. The lecture lengths are EXTREMELY manageable as none are >35 minutes. However, take in to consideration that each may take more time if you pause to take notes or back track for reinforcement or clarification of something. I estimated about 45-60 min for each.

I plotted out about 3-4 hours a day to spend with the lecture and workbook material. However, due to my schedule some days allowed for only 1-2 hours of study time.

Doing it this way took me about 2.5 weeks to complete all of the lectures.

Then I ordered the Fitzgerald Adult-Gero Pharmacology Review...I found this to be a great supplement to the review course. It reinforced, in more detail, some of the topics covered in the review but also went over other topics not covered. I'll admit, I didn't make it through all of this lecture material. The topics I focused on were the ABRS update, antibiotic update - focus on CAP, asthma update, the EENT update, eval of renal function, tx of older adult skin, cough/cold/fever, and T2DM. What was nice about this course was that it didn't just cover pharmacological management but also the patho and diagnostics of each condition. Going through these additional lectures took me about a week. I only listened to these lectures, I did not take notes.

I did a total of 350 review questions...that's it! I did 150 from Fitzgerald and bought 200 from ANCC. I felt that reviewing the material and really understanding it was much more valuable than doing millions of review questions. However, I know that for some people doing review questions is what works best.

Also, I only listened to each lecture ONCE...not on repeat (of course, I didn't have the CD's either to be able to do that). When I did listen to the lectures I made sure that took good notes and understood what was being said before moving on.

Then I reviewed areas I knew I wasn't strong in...I determined this based on how I did on the review questions and my own assessment of my knowledge. I only spent about a week reviewing the material. I wish I had taken 2 weeks...I just think it would have increased my confidence level going in to the exam. But nevertheless, my exam was scheduled so I only got 1 week and that really was sufficient.

The day of the exam...

My exam was scheduled for 8 am. I arrived at the test center 25 min early. It was busy...I think there were at least 5 people ahead of me and 5-7 more walked in shortly after me.

I checked in, presented my ID, read through the test center rules, got my locker (unlucky #13), and waited to be called back.

I probably waited about 10 minutes before being called back and the sign in process took another 5 min or so.

I was lead back to my computer cubicle (lucky #7) and the exam popped up.

I had 20 min to become acquainted with the software (it only took me maybe 10 min tops) and then proceeded to the exam.

200 questions = 4 hours, you can move back and forth between questions if you'd like as well as mark questions for later review. I recommended spending no more than 1-2 minutes on challenging questions. Mark them for review later. I marked 26 questions. It took me 3 hours and 20 min to complete all 200 questions leaving me more than enough time to review the 26 marked questions. The majority of the marked questions I left the same, I think I changed the answer to about 5. Then I submit my exam.

After submitting the exam there is a post-test survey to take. I had 10 min to take the survey...it took me about 5 min. After submitting the survey a window popped up that loaded for about 1-1.5 min then the window went away and the desktop showed up. At this point I thought that my exam had been lost...I was under the impression that my exam result would pop up after a few minutes.

So with my heart racing I got up with my ID, 4 pieces of scratch paper, and locker key and walked out of the exam room to the test administrators desk. She was very pleasant and asked for my ID. She had me "sign out", clicked around on her computer and finally a piece of paper printed. She stamped it and signed then handed it to me and said, "Congratulations". It was literally the longest 2 min of my life because I had no idea what she was doing and still felt like my exam had maybe been lost.

I was so relieved when she said congratulations. I walked out of the test center with a renewed sense of confidence in my knowledge and ability as a new NP.

Here are my pointers: the clinical questions are straightforward...know your stuff and these will be easy.

There are pictures - be ready for these...again, know your stuff and these will be easy.

There are some questions that ask you to chose 2-3 answers...I found these to be the most challenging because if it asks you to pick 2 there are likely 3 answers that could be right...I did a lot of question analysis with these and tried not to over think what the question was asking.

There is a fair amount of ethical, billing/coding, technology, research, cultural competency, and communication material...be familiar with this on a basic level. Remember that this test is assessing knowledge for entry level NP practice. Don't try to be an expert on certain topics. Having a good foundation of knowledge in patho and pharm is really helpful. Of course a good foundation in diagnostics and management is important too.

I know this was long but I hope it was helpful. I did a lot of Googling about people's experiences with studying and the exam prior to taking mine and found some posts helpful and others discouraging.

Bottom line...if you graduated from a master's program you have seen most of this material before and have a basic understanding of it. Use your study time to reinforce and clarify this material. Strive to understand, not just memorize, the material. If you do this you will succeed! Good luck!

[PCURN-BSN]

Congrats

[TammyG]

Kjoy, thank you for your very helpful post. I am graduating in a few months and plan to do exactly what you recommend, though I am only going to take 1-2 weeks off. (I am only working PRN during my last semester so don't think I'll be too burned out when it is finally over.) I think spending 1-2 hours per day for a month is perfect.

I have a question regarding Fitzgerald. Are CDs available so that you can have unlimited viewings? I looked at their website and they do not appear to be. Do you think four viewings of the lectures is enough? I actually do -- I can't imagine watching them more than that.

Thank you again for your nice descriptive post, it was very helpful.

[PCURN-BSN]

The online format has some ppt with the info that is unlimited but the lectures have only 4 viewings.and Yes four viewings are more than enough...i actually only used 2 of 4 . I think you have access to all of the info for 6 months.

[kjoyAGPCNP84]

TammyG, I agree with PCURN-BSN that 4 viewings of the lectures is more than enough and you do have access for 6 months to all of the study materials and extra online resources. If you go to the Fitzgerald site and click on the online store heading it will direct you to a page with various options for purchasing study materials. Click the recordings header and that is where you can find the CD's. Those that I've talked to who used the CDs listened to them all the time...in the car, at home, while working out, etc. I did not find that necessary. In fact I only listened to each lecture once and made sure to do a good job of pausing to take adequate notes. For me listening to material over and over would not have been effective, I would have just spaced out and not really paid attention to what was being said. Good luck as you finish up school and start to plan for boards!

[ICURN7]

Congrats and thanks for the great heads-up!

[SunnyNP]

Awe, this post really melted my heart. Thanks for sharing as it brought back so many memories of my testing experience in 2005. I was a bit old school and took the CDs and recorded them on audio tapes. I relistened to them several times thinking they should have an iTunes version :)

best wishes to All in your NP career