chaiteastaci

I studied for 8 weeks using the Fitzgerald Review. I continued to work full time (3-12hr shifts). In hindsight 4-6weeks is probably good enough and I was scheduled to take my exam at the 6 week mark but then I got nervous and rescheduled. Review Materials I purchased the Fitzgerald Review, the ANCC Psych NP book, the ANCC Psych NP practice questions, the ANCC test taking skills, and the FamilyNPprep.com questions. All of them helped in different ways but ALL of them are not necessary to pass. The Fitzgerald Review was a great overview of the material...it is through and detailed The ANCC Psych NP book is the nuts and bolts of the psychiatric nursing. The ANCC Psych NP practice questions. These questions are expensive but worth it. This exam is more of a reflection of test taking skills than material. In other words the test questions aren't hard but you have to apply the knowledge and pick the best right answer.The ANCC website has free practice questions and if you can't afford the $109, do the practice questions..at least 2 of my tests came from the free practice questions. ANCC test taking skills $30. So basic. So worth it. There are 200 questions, you are bound to lose concentration/focus...this overview refreshes your memory on how to answer questions, what to do if you lose concentration, what do to if you are stuck between two questions, etc. Is this information a game changer? No, it's information that has already been out there and may be in some review books but as I was taking the test I could hear the narrators voice in my head when trying to decide between 2 answer choices. FamilyNPprep.com. The questions are nothing like the exam but it will help you go over topics more obscure topics like ethics, communication, negligence, etc. I ended up buying the 10 pack of questions...really you only need about 3-5 after test 6 the questions just got sloppy and unrealistic. If I had to pick all over and I was short on cash, I would pick the ANCC Psych NP book for a review and the questions. I would also see if my college library has the Kaplan and Sadock Comprehensive Review, Deja Review Psychiatry, Case Files Psychiatry for practice questions. The questions from these books are unlike the questions on the exam but if you can answer them you know the material. Setting up a Study Program Decide each week what you are going to go over and put it in your calendar as an "event" so a reminder pops up on your phone. Review a new topic or two for a few days then reheorifice/review then go on to a new topic. If you are feeling overwhelmed about how you are going to remember everything... check out Remember everything you want and manage the rest by Helmut Sachs. This book is excellent in teaching you how to think about material so you can recall it whenever you need it. Actual Test This is a test of your applied knowledge. A lot of short scenarios where you have to know the information about medications for disorders, medication interactions (think inducers of CYP450), ethics, therapeutic communication (lots of questions on this) also as jamonit '13 stated in their post topics included "cohort observational studies, beneficence, sensitivity/specificity, Prochaska's, independent variables, and ethics/cultural questions." You have to know some basics of other conditions like thyroid disease, elevated lab values for a cardiac condition or autoimmune disease (think common diseases occur commonly). The test will ask you questions less like "A person comes into your office and hasn't sleep in three days, has a lot of energy, and has just spend $10K on antique postage stamps does this person has bipolar 1, bipolar 2, cyclothymia, dysthymia". Go to the ANCC website for practice questions...they are the real deal. In hindsight I could have taken this test at the 4 week mark because it really was more about applied knowledge. But I walked in very confident that I had done/reviewed everything I could and that was half of the mental battle. Mental Health While Studying/Taking the Exam When I first started studying I thought, "man how am I going to remember all of this information" but week by week I was retaining the information. As my confidence grew so did my belief that I could pass this exam. I never held on to thoughts that I wouldn't pass..sure those thoughts crept up but I didn't entertain them. I'm also a big advocate of meditation/visualization; everyday I would meditate to reduce anxiety and to set my mind up to visualize a positive outcome. If you have never tried meditation, Oprah has a great FREE 21 day meditation experience with Deepak Chopra..its for beginners and it is great...go to her website. Also "Tapping" is a great way to alleviate stress...for more info on Tapping go to YouTube or look up the Tapping Solution on Amazon.com Remember you can do this!! I hope this information helps.... I scoured this site looking for a concise understanding of what this test would be like and I found a few posts scattered here and there so I wanted to post this more comprehensive post for all of the upcoming grads! Good Luck!

I looked at the website...it looks like they are changing it starting in fall 2014. In the old program you completed 4 semesters of pre-licensure course work -- No Degree but could sit for the NCLEX, then you went directly into your Master's specialty (2-4yrs) -- then you finally got your MSN. It looks like they are changing it because a lot of students were complaining that they weren't able to find jobs at Magnet hospitals because hospitals want their nurses to have degrees in nursing. Looks like competition got the best of them as Rush and Depaul have generalist MS programs. I finished the UIC GEP in -08 and took a yr off then resumed my master's classes while working full time and finished last year. If there is no real difference in program or cost then pick any one. All programs will have their pros and cons. Some people loved UIC and some hated it (same with depaul). You ultimately will be eligible to sit for the same test no matter what program and hospitals don't necessarily prefer students from one school or another. If you prefer to have government only loans pick the program that will allow you to finance primarily via the government. You can always apply for the nursing student loan repayment program (even though it is a competitive program). It's a lot of money no matter which way you cut it. I didn't have undergrad debt so that's how I justified the cost.

Also UIC will probably cost you about $50-60K because you have to do the RN portion full time. You absolutely can not work until you get a campus assistantship or research assistantship and get some type of tuition waiver (these are hard to get). Most people will take out government loans whose interest rate is capped and can be consolidated. For me, I could not even fathom the idea of taking out private loans because of the interest repayment terms.

I finished the UIC GEP program and my subsequent Master's (NP) through UIC. I have also worked with people who went through the Depaul program. My opinion is this, at the end of UIC GEP you do not have a nursing degree. This is a big hindrance to getting a job at some of the better hospitals in Chicago (really all the Magnet status hospitals). When I finished the GEP portion it was back in '08 and it wasn't a huge deal then as long as you had your BA in something but when I talked to subsequent GEPPERS they found that some hospitals (Advocate) didn't even consider them. At least with Depaul you will have a general Master's degree and that will suffice for most hospitals. The reason that hospitals want BSNs and MSNs is that it is now apart of their accrediting process. If you know you will go straight through to the Master's (NP) portion and don't care where you work (or want to work as a research nurse or some other type of nurse) I'd go to UIC. If you are unsure what if you want to be an NP or what you want to specialize in go to Depaul and work a few years then go back for your post-masters and have the hospital you work at pay for it. The UIC program is cheaper and that's why I chose it but I knew my final outcome was to be an NP. Also many of the people that went to Depaul said the program was unorganized. I could say the same about UIC at times but I know for sure that UIC has actively tried to improve and become more organized as they have so many students.