newgrad13

Bemidji State University in Minnesota has an online statistics course. The college I attended required statistics for the RN to BSN program, and I took my course online.

Cameron46, a great big congratulations to you!

With the ANCC exam there are 175 questions, 150 of which are scored (you do not know which items are scored). The questions are weighted differently. There are 500 points possible and 350 is the passing score. When you are done taking the test, you go up to the exam proctor and they will hand you a printout which will give you your "score" and a "pass/fail". I passed the test the first time, but felt theory was definitely my "weak" area (they do not break down areas of weakness if you pass). Best wishes.

I purchased the 2010 CD's (with review workbook) from the Fitzgerald website (because the content of the ANCC exam changed considerably in 2010). The new cd's are released every year around late March/April (I believe). Thus, you might not want to wait to try to get 2011 cd's. Some people in my class bought 1 set of CD's and "shared" them. (This isn't illegal as long as you don't copy the cd's). I resold my cd's (I kept the workbook) on ebay and got back 75% of my purchase price! Because you will be taking the exam early, there should be plenty of people looking for used materials to study from (the prices always seem to be higher when the most people have just graduated and are taking the exams). I would strongly suggest partnering with a friend in your class and sharing materials (one does the CD's while another studies a review book and then switching and then reselling the materials when you are done). The ANCC exam requires a "conferred" degree on the transcript, so if you are taking that exam, the earliest you would likely be able to take it if you are graduating in May is in June (and that is if you send in a placeholder transcript in March/April).

Whoaa........I usually got back 1/2-2/3 of the original book price once commissions were paid (I usually bought my books new ahead of the semester from Amazon or one of their resellers). There were books I actually made money on. My books were all in meticulous shape.

FNPGrad, A great big congratulations to you!!! What did you think of the exam?

Cameron46, great tips! FNPGrad, I'll be praying/rooting for you - let us know how it goes. You definitely sound ready - in my opinion, I would not want to "wait" longer because to me that equates to "more stress". Good sleep the night before is hard to come by so do whatever you can to relax -- it is easier said than done. I tried breathing techniques! I took the ANCC exam, went through all of the questions once and had an hour and one-half to spare. I debated going back over the questions, but decided against it .... first answer is sometimes the best answer. Wow, I'm glad the exam is over, and I suspect you'll feel the same way!!! Best wishes!

I bought most of my books in "like new" condition from Amazon sellers (at a good discount), and then kept them pristine. Each semester, I sold almost "all" of the previous semester's books. I went the "long" route in nursing getting a generic Associate's Degree, then an Associate's in Nursing, then a Bachelor's in Nursing and then a MSN to be an advanced practice (family practice) specialty. Thus, I have "lots" of experience "selling" textbooks. I've saved thousands of dollars and never missed all the books I've sold. I highly recommend recycling the books. I saved an Anatomy book as well as a few others. I continue to buy "new" books as my occupation warrants new items that I feel I could use in practice. I usually noted in the comments field when selling my books that they were "gently used by a nursing student". I think many buyers would like to help another student get through school. I chose Amazon as my "marketplace". I did sell my Fitzgerald Review CD set on Ebay (I purchased it for $420 from Fitzgerald & sold it on ebay without the workbook for $325). If you sell on Amazon, you do need to be sure someone can ship the book out (usually by media mail so shipping is reasonable) quickly (their guidelines state how many days you have to ship your orders out). Also, when shipping media mail, anything weighing over 11 oz. cannot be left in your mailbox, etc. - so it may mean a trip to the post office). Many of my friends that mother's, sister's or brother's that helped them with this. Overall, it is a super easy process and all my books for the whole semester always sold within a day or two of listing. Best wishes.

If you have time to study your final semester, you might want to file an early application (March/April) with a placeholder transcript. This option (you send your final transcript in with the conferred degree asap after graduation) would likely give you an authorization to test for the first week in June or so (and your window to test lasts for 90 days). With this option, when you are looking for a job in a tight job market it may show "confidence" to a prospective employer that you are already certified and tested immediately (just a thought).

Gosh, I think with all of the papers and research (and that will be dependent on where you would complete your FNP), I think the MSN/FNP to be significantly "more work". I don't think you'll find it "hard" given your achievements already, but the school I went to was very intense in assignments (lots of papers requiring intensive research and citations) as well as a major graduate project. I went to school full time for 2 years (including 2 summers) plus worked about .5 as an RN until the final semester (I just worked casual the final semester to complete all my clinical hours).

Kangoshi, A great big congratulations to you too! So great to have it "over" with. I didn't receive any kind of a breakdown, just my official certificate. You can go to the ANCC website and order a verification (you get one free) if you need it for an employer or to send to your state board. Apparently, you only get a breakdown of the score when you don't pass the ANCC. It would be interesting to know which MSN and DNP programs have the best pass rates for the certification exams.

A great big congratulations, MistieRN!!! I'm so happy for you. Did you think the test was tough?

MistieRN, I'm rooting for you to have a great test day tomorrow, keep us posted. I bet you will be so glad to be done studying. I know you are well prepared.

I graduated in May, but submitted an "early application with a placeholder transcript" by the first week in March. I submitted my final transcript (with conferred degree) at the end of May, and I had my authorization to test by the first week in June. I scheduled my test for the second week of June and passed. I do think it is a tough exam. At peak workload, I think it takes up to 8 weeks to get your authorization to test letter. Bidwilltv, that is interesting that the person you know paid an expedited processing fee and got their authorization to test the same day as you did. It was supposed to cut the time frame down to about 2 weeks (plus mail time) or so. Best wishes on the test.

MistieRN, I've been thinking about you - I think today was your "original" test date (I don't know if you went through with the exam or if you changed the date). Did you test today, and if so, how did it go? :)

I worked about .5 for 1 1/2 years and didn't work almost at all during the final semester of school. I read 2-3 hours a day at least 5 days a week and sometimes worked on schoolwork for 6 hours 1 day a week instead of the 2-3 hours of reading. I don't think I could have done it working full time. I was fortunate to not end up with school loans, but if you do take them out, and end up in specialty NP work, it sounds like you won't have any trouble paying them off. Some of the preceptors here seem to get really "irritated" with students who "work" too much (more common for those with irregular schedules -- if you had a regular schedule it probably would be better).

Rosebud1981, Several other members have posted on threads that the screen paragraph reads "passed" or "failed". Try checking the AANP website, you may be able to enter your testing i.d. number, etc. and have the test status come up (unless of course it says pending, and I don't know what that would mean -- maybe that the computer has downloaded the test results yet). I know my results were available immediately when I logged into the ANCC website and showed as "certified". When you walk out of the Prometric testing center for the ANCC exam, they actually hand you a piece of paper that says "passed" - not sure what it would have said if I hadn't passed. Best wishes.

For those of you taking the AANP exam - page 10 of their manual (link below) (actually shows up as page 13 on my computer) shows the breakdown in the number of questions in each grouping. I thought this might be helpful if some of you haven't seen it. Although I took the ANCC exam, it sounds like many of the new grads on this board are taking the AANP exam. https://www.aanpcertification.org/ptistore/resource/documents/Candidate_Handbook.pdf

I'm so happy for you! I bet you are anxious to start work as an FNP. I'm still working on trying to secure an FNP position (but getting closer!)

Congratulations, Dojo2, I am so happy for you - I was hoping you would post tonight. It is such a relief to be done with it, isn't it?! Did you feel pretty confident when you were taking it? I was not all that confident during my test - I thought it was a tough exam.

Mickey4, you can take the AANP exam twice in any one year. Kangoshi, I took the ANCC board certification exam, and the changes were announced on their website. They had a really nice 2-page outline showing the areas that would be covered and the the percentage of the exam that was based on each each (I think they even specifically stated how many questions each area would have). I realize this isn't probably pertinent because you asked about the AANP exam, but you might check AANP's website. Best wishes.

kellynp, You are absolutely NOT a loser. Many people are known not to test well but do exceptionally well in practice. This type of test is tripping you up. Did the test identify the area of weakness, and if so what was it? In the end, I would have reviewed some additional college text books in the areas I felt weak in, but I had already sold them. According to the AANP website you can "sit" for their exam twice in one year Certification FAQs - AANP-CP Which test did you feel more comfortable with, the ANCC or the AANP? I think the people who have passed the exam can help give you some study tips if you let them know which area(s) you had difficulty with. I took the ANCC test. Whatever you do, don't lose confidence in your abilities, this is a "speed bump" not a life changing event - you will pass it yet.

Sounds like you are ready. Here is the link right from the ANCC website. If you look on page two, it goes into detail on what they feel the exam covers regarding theory. http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Documents/Certification/TestContentOutlines/FamilyNPMar2010.aspx Best wishes and let us know how it goes. Dojo, it is great that you have a job all lined up and are ready to start in August!

Kellynp, my thoughts have been with you - let us know how it went and how you thought the exams compared. Eradak1, today is your day too, keep us posted. Dojo2, Friday is just around the corner now, I bet you are anxious to get it over with. FNPGrad, wow, that was an awesome turnaround time from the time you sent in your conferred degree/transcript, had you pre-registered before that so that your materials had already been pre-approved? Saradke, you sound like you are following a great action plan. Did Fitzgerald's 3-day live review class have handouts also? If so, you might review those handouts. Did they spent much time on theory, policy, billing and ethical issues at the live seminar?

Best wishes to everyone testing this month. It will be interesting to hear your comments - I still think this is one of the "tougher" transition years while testing entities move forward to meet their goals and schools/review prep companies strive to teach the same.