Passed the ANCC FNP today!

Published Aug 19, 2015

2 Posts

I promised myself that I would post here when I passed the exam.

THAT WAS A DIFFICULT TEST!!! I do not mean to scare you guys but I want you to be prepared.

There were about 10 picture questions related to skin issues. I remember seeing cancer (black with irregular borders), herpes, acne, impetigo, and one about who would give methotrexate to and it gave a pic of RA (symmetrical) and OA.

There was several question on research topics! Take time to study research design and evidence hierarchy.

Definitely study why we use ICD, E&M, and CPT codes.

And there was a heavy focus on asthma, HTN, and DM.

What I used to study:

I took the Fitzgerald course. I suppose she helped by showing us what kind of questions to expect, what the question is asking, and how to answer them. The exam questions were similar to her questions....they were mostly case questions. She allows you to do online videos and lectures, however I noticed the videos disappeared from my account. Don't know what thats about.

I bought 10 exams from familynpprep.com. I scored mostly 68-79 (raw score) on them. I went over each exam, even the ones I got right just to read the rationale. The good thing about these tests are the questions about NP practice, state board of nursing, medicare, and medicaid.They kind of drill it into your head.

I bought the Family NP Review Manuel 4th Edition (the white and yellow book). I only bought the first book bc the main things to study are the first 3 chapters. Not sure if this is true, but I did read somewhere that if amazon lets you download a copy for free, you basically get all the pages you need. The first chapters primarily talk about culture (I had a bunch of questions on Mexican americans), theories (which I did not see on my test!), and NP practice.

Lastly, I used FNP Certification Intensive Review 2nd edition by Maria Codeina Leik. I do agree with the majority of NPs that say this was the best resource. This book really did have everything. The exam tips at the end of the chapters helped a lot, as well as the last chapters in Legal Issues (memorize the ethical concepts!)

In the end, I realized that I had to guess on many questions. My heart was pounding and I thought I would faint because I was soooo nervous. I actually took the entire 4 hours, including reviewing all my answers. Just remember to breathe.