PMHNP Boards-2020

Nursing Students NP Students

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Hi everyone,

I passed my PMHNP boards today and frequently visited the site to figure out study materials/ tips and I wanted to pass along some knowledge.

study materials

- so I used the purple book and pocket prep together. I would read two chapters and then do 50-100 questions every day until I worked through the book and answered all of the questions. Luckily, pocket preps questions are directly from the purple book and rationales had direct page citations so it was a nice way to move through the book and reinforce topics. I worked through these before board vitals.

The ANCC iq questions were pretty good and probably most resembled the board questions. I would recommend saving these until the end.

board vitals- I heard mixed reviews regarding this source from numerous people, but I found this to be super helpful. I only did the easy and medium level questions when constructing my practice exams because the "hard" were basically impossible. The ethics/legal/policy were especially helpful. Overall I would highly recommend doing this once going through pocket prep and the purple book

Lantern review- I got this kind of last minute and would not buy this product. Again heard mixed reviews but I would not use this. A lot of the topics were too basic and others too random. IMO I would skip this.

-advice: do pocket prep and pp to get a solid foundation then work through bv. Also, make sure to do practice exams that are 175 questions under timed conditions. Also, make sure to hit your "checkpoints" on time during the exam- after 1 hr should be in the high 50s, 2 hrs should be at 100-110 and so forth. I'm usually a fast test taker and only had 3 minutes to spare

- for the exam itself, I had quiet a few NMS questions, ethics/ QI/policy stuff. I felt the questions were pretty random. Also, make sure to hit what part of the assessment gets documented in which section- though process, where to document SI. Dementia was big. Screeners-phq, cows, ciwa.

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CONGRATS, thats amazing you passed. I am also studying for the boards at this time. The info you provided is very helpful. What do you recommend should be top focus topics for studying and of the tools you mentioned what did you find was most useful---like an absolute buy?

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CONGRATS @roccomania123 !

Thanks for the tips! I am also preparing for the boards and focusing on the purple book and been using the pocket prep app daily for the past week now. I too bought the lantern review and agree that it was quite underwhelming. My plan for review is to also utilize the ANCC IQ questions. But just like what @Norvy asked above, I too would like to know what major topics we should focus on with our review.

And thanks again for the insight and CONGRATS to you @roccomania123!

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The test was VERY random and most were testing your ability to critically think. I found the psychopharm questions to be really straightforward and would not spend much time on going over this. The psychopathology questions weren't bad either-difference between delusional disorder/schizophrenia/shizophreniform,brief psychotic d/o--If you do pocket prep and board vitals your will do fine on this.

I would get Board vitals and do ALL the "easy" and "medium" level questions on policy/ethics/legal/theory/therapies because these are the areas that most people (including myself) struggle with and felt this was the majority of the exam. I thought BV questions were incredibly helpful in these areas and I would highly recommend. I would also know hypo/hyperthyroidism inside and out including tsh/t4 levels+ what primary vs. secondary hypothyroidism labs look like, also symptoms. The only medical stuff I had was thyroid stuff. I would know Piaget/Freud/Erikson stages inside and out- I had at least 5 questions on these-this was covered really well on board vitals. Know NMS/Serotonin syndrome and tx like the back of your hand. Know the different types of neurocognitive diseases and major symptoms of each-FTD, delirium etc and how to score a MMSE and what to do for each section of the MMSE (what does serial 7 assess). I had a few questions on childhood disorders such as ADHD, ASD, Tourettes-again BV was great for childhood d/o.

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@roccomania123 Thanks so much for sharing all these TIPS and test info. I feel like I have a long way to go LOL! I just applied for the exam yesterday and sent off the requested info. I am not sure what state you r in but NY appears to be taking a while with everything so I am reviewing and keeping in mind you what you posted. Please keep posting as much as you can! I would love to know how your journey goes (applying for DEA, looking for work, landing your first job), any tips you can offer! Anyway thanks for giving us hope for this PMH NP 2020 EXAM!

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Ditto! Thank you @roccomania123, these definitely are excellent tips! You just provided me with an excellent blueprint for success. CONGRATS again and good luck with all your endeavors.

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Specializes in Forensics/Psychiaty.

Thanks for the tips. I just took my test a week ago and landed a 341/350. Hurts really bad, but it is what is is. Back on the drawing board I go. What you stated on the exam is true. I was chocked by the amount of questions I had on policies... and I litterally ran out of time. Sucks, but 60 days can come fast enough!

CONGRATS again and GL on your journey !

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@NPFLlo Hi. I am terribly sorry to hear this ....you were so close. The 60 days will be here before you know it. I am still studying my self. I am in NY and they are just taking forever to get us the ATT #. Anyway, I am focusing on the ANA purple book. ch 2-8 seems to be problematic areas for me. If you don't mind I would like for you to share with us what tools you were using to prepare, what do u think about the questions and what you felt were important areas to review.

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Specializes in Forensics/Psychiaty.

I used the same culprits. Purple book, ancc IQ bank, pocket prep and a variety of quizlet resources. I think my biggest mistake was thinking as a provider. Unlike the AANP, ANCC is very heavy on therapies, advanced practice role and not much on the clinical aspect of the NP role. I'm focusing my studies on the basics. Neuroanatomy, Therapies, and all those theories that are so annoying to keep in order. My weakest domain was 4 psychotherapies and theories. If you can memorize those chapters, the rest should be easy cruising. Hope this helps.

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Specializes in ICU,M/S,Onco,SNF.
On 6/22/2020 at 1:31 PM, roccomania123 said:

Hi everyone,

I passed my PMHNP boards today and frequently visited the site to figure out study materials/ tips and I wanted to pass along some knowledge.

study materials

- so I used the purple book and pocket prep together. I would read two chapters and then do 50-100 questions every day until I worked through the book and answered all of the questions. Luckily, pocket preps questions are directly from the purple book and rationales had direct page citations so it was a nice way to move through the book and reinforce topics. I worked through these before board vitals.

The ANCC iq questions were pretty good and probably most resembled the board questions. I would recommend saving these until the end.

board vitals- I heard mixed reviews regarding this source from numerous people, but I found this to be super helpful. I only did the easy and medium level questions when constructing my practice exams because the “hard” were basically impossible. The ethics/legal/policy were especially helpful. Overall I would highly recommend doing this once going through pocket prep and the purple book

Lantern review- I got this kind of last minute and would not buy this product. Again heard mixed reviews but I would not use this. A lot of the topics were too basic and others too random. IMO I would skip this.

-advice: do pocket prep and pp to get a solid foundation then work through bv. Also, make sure to do practice exams that are 175 questions under timed conditions. Also, make sure to hit your “checkpoints” on time during the exam- after 1 hr should be in the high 50s, 2 hrs should be at 100-110 and so forth. I’m usually a fast test taker and only had 3 minutes to spare

- for the exam itself, I had quiet a few NMS questions, ethics/ QI/policy stuff. I felt the questions were pretty random. Also, make sure to hit what part of the assessment gets documented in which section- though process, where to document SI. Dementia was big. Screeners-phq, cows, ciwa.

@roccomania123

@roccomania123 what would be your best advice for students starting their PMHNP program that will help them prep for the boards? Which classes or part of the program should we focus more that will be a good foundation for taking the boards?

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failed looking for q study partner

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Im sorry to hear about your results @Joy Praise

Just wanted to ask, what resources did you use and what was your study blueprint for this past test? Also, what topics did you encounter in the exam? As for a study partner, I too am preparing for the exam and maybe we can work something out and I would be more than happy to partner with you in studying for the exam.

Anyway, hopefully you will be successful the next time you take the exam.

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