I passed the FNP ANCC certification this week and I wanted to share my study strategies since this website was so useful to me in my preparation!
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I graduated May, 2016. I took two days off per week from my job to study for boards. I signed up for the ANCC which was a relatively smooth and easy process. I blocked out a calendar to study for approximately 6 weeks. Each day, I reviewed a system/topic and did 50-100 practice questions. I am a huge anal retentive list-maker, so I would check off my progress and this motivated me to stay on track with studying. I then made notecards for my "trouble areas" and things I felt I needed to memorize, such as ABX, Tanner staging, dermatology, etc. I took my test the first week in July and I passed. I took about 6 weeks of studying, therefore I wasn't "cramming" and didn't feel pressure to rush through material I needed more focus on!
Resources
I took the Barkley Review in January, 2016. I took this because I thought it would give me more time to study, however looking back, I feel I should have waited and taken it closer to graduation. It was basically a crash-course of everything we learned in graduate school compiled into 2.5 days. He was an excellent lecturer, however this really was not my style of learning. I did use the book provided to me during this course to study from and focused on the "PEARLS" of the exam which were helpful.
I bought the "Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Intensive Review 2nd Edition" book which was hands down, the BEST resource. It's basically the "quick and dirty" of the ANCC. This is the book I felt prepared me for the ANCC. I went through all of the chapters and systems and utilized this to focus on the theory, insurance, billing, etc. portion of the ANCC exam. There were 650 practice questions in the book which were also very helpful!
I also used the Family Nurse Practitioner Review Secrets Revealed" book for the questions, however I did not use it for anything else.
The FNP mastery phone app was awesome- I would answer questions when I was in bed, waiting for friends, etc. It was $30 and worth every penny!
The week before the test, I stopped doing practice questions, focused on my problem areas, and reviewed the Leik book PEARLS one more time.
Almost Test Time
I am very superstitious and like my RN boards, I only told two people when I was testing. I had scheduled my boards for July 5th, so when my friends knew I wasn't coming out to party, I'm sure the suspected my test was happening soon! The day before the test I didn't study, I watched movies, worked out, and relaxed. I was SO nervous all day, sick to my stomach, palpitations, etc. I just kept reminding myself that I was prepared! My test was at 8am, I woke up at 4am, 5am, etc. SO nervous that I would miss it! I arrived an hour early, was checked in, went through a metal detector, had to empty my pockets, sign in, verify my ID, etc. This process was slightly intimidating but the staff at the testing center were very calming!
The Test
I have never been so nervous or unsure of myself. The test is composed of 200 questions, however 25 are used for future test question development. It took me about 2 hours to go through the 200 questions the first time around and I marked the questions I needed to go back to. If a question was too "wordy," I would mark it and come back to it. At my two-hour mark, I took a quick bathroom break and returned. The test was not at all what I expected. It contained many non-clinical questions which were still difficult, however I was able to figure out with some deep thinking! My exam was all over the place, from derm to cardiac to pulmonary to ethics to leadership, etc. You name it, it was on there. I felt well-prepared, however hitting the "submit" button gave me the biggest stomach-drop EVER.
The Results
I went to the area to get my results and of course there were four people sitting there! AHHHH-Noooo, what if I failed? They are going to see me ugly cry!!! The nice man sitting at the desk asked for my ID and signature and I blurted out "DON'T SAY MY RESULTS OUT LOUD!" Everyone looked at me like I was a bit crazy, but he said "don't worry, I never do." I saw the sheet of paper laying on the desk and saw the word "Congratulations!" This was one of the BEST moments of my life! All of my hard work and dedication have paid off-finally. Anyways, he handed me the paper, I started happy-crying, hugged the four people around me in the testing center and was on my merry way!
Bottom Line
I've struggled with test anxiety my whole life. I've done well in school and have to work hard to get good grades and do well on exams. This may seem impossible to some, but it is SO doable and the best feeling after you're done.
