FNP2015

Today I took (and passed!) the AANP Emergency board certification exam. I promised myself that I'd get on here and create a post, since there seemed to be a lack of information out there when I was preparing, which makes sense given that this is a newer exam. Background: I'm an FNP. Next month will mark 2 years that I've worked in the ED in a community hospital. I work primarily fast track, though I do pick up occasional "Main ED" shifts when staffing allows. While it is "fast track", it is not unusual for triage to miss the mark. We regularly have surgery, med/surg, and ICU admissions, and it is not unusual to arrange transfers to different facilities for patients who require a higher level of care. Having said all of this, I am not the provider who is going to be stabilizing a trauma or running a code. Most of my patients are stable, even if they do turn out to actually be sick. I also do some urgent care work. Preparation: I purchased the Barkley CDs for review. At this time, the Fitzgerald course is not yet available for home review; I'd have preferred to use Fitzgerald if it were an option. I was not impressed with the Barkley course. I felt that the speakers were not engaging, and was disappointed in the quality of some of the material set forth. It was painful to make it through all of the CDs and I had difficulty concentrating on them. I would not recommend Barkley. Appx 2 weeks before my test date I purchased the RoshReview test bank, composed of appx 1500 questions. I completed all of the questions and only got 55% of them correct. I definitely learned things from them, but it is clear that the question bank was recycled questions that were originally used for Emergency Physician test prep. For example, questions would start, "You are the Emergency Physician caring for a patient who presents with..." The good news is that RoshReview does offer a full refund if you don't pass your exam. I'd say I got more out of those practice questions than I did the Barkley course, but I do wish it was a little more consistent with what we would see on the ENP exam. Test: I found the AANP ENP examination to be very fair, just as I did their FNP examination. It was helpful to have real life experience behind me which gave me confidence with my answers, which I was missing when I took the FNP exam. If you're banking on clinical ED experience as your sole preparation for the ENP exam- it is probably sufficient. The test was absolutely in line with what I see on a typical day in fast track, inclusive of those cases that require work-ups, transfers, and admissions. There were no tricks, and they weren't expecting me to know how to independently manage complex traumas or cases that I'd ask an attending for help with in real life. Good luck!

Just to be clear, I was referring to the Adult-Gero practice examination on their website. Not the actual exam- don't pay for something you can't use!! I had a couple of questions on my actual exam that were ver batim from that practice test. Good luck!

Hello! For any Massachusetts NPs out there- how long did it take for you to receive your license after mailing in your application to Professional Credentialing Services? I have a job waiting on this. I am not licensed in any other states, so that should not hold things up. Thank you!

Do tons of Leik practice questions and pay for both the Family NP and Adult-Gero NP practice exams through the AANP website, if you haven't done so already. Good luck!

Hello, I'm hoping this has all worked out for you since you posted this! Just wondering the timeline which you received your license? Thank you!

Good luck, MsMeliss83! Perhaps I'll also reach out to APEA with some feedback!

The test was probably about 25-30% on peds. Just a rough estimate based on what I can remember, but I bet you could find a real range on the AANP website. Good luck!

If you're scoring 86% on the Leik questions, then you're in excellent shape for the test! I didn't use exam edge but it might be a good study source! Good luck!

The math part is very minimal... it is not what causes people to flunk out of RN programs! You've taken a few years since high school to gain life experience and likely have the maturity to commit yourself to a course of study now in a different way than you were able to in high school. If this is your passion, go for it! Best of luck. :)

Hi all! I recently passed my AANP FNP boards and wanted to share my study strategy, as it differed from what I'd seen on here when I was looking for advice! It seems that most threads on here average 6 weeks of studying, and I wanted to share that I believe you can prepare yourself adequately in about a week. Below is a list of my study materials, and whether I found each item useful: 1. I purchased the Fitzgerald Review CDs which I listened to on my weekly commutes to and from school during the final 2 months of my program. I felt that her CDs were easier to engage with while driving as opposed to trying to tune out distractions at home! Because I listened to them over such an extended period of time, however, I don't know how much of the information I truly committed to memory. 2. Maria Leik's Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Intensive Review book is a must. Chapters are broken down by body system, and within each system she gives the need-to-know facts for each condition. There are hundreds of questions with rationales in the back of the book and I found these to be the best use of my time. I was able to read this book cover to cover in a few days of studying. There are a couple of typos and incorrect facts, but the book is mostly great. 3. Fitzgerald's FNP review book went almost completely unused by me. I didn't like the formatting of the book or how you had to search within paragraphs to find the information you were looking for. She did include practice questions within chapters which may be useful to some. 4. I purchased two predictor exams from APEA, and while I know that may people find these useful, I felt that many of the questions were flawed. I performed borderline poorly on the two practice exams and it was a blow to my confidence. I believe I scored a 68 and a 70. If I could go back in time I wouldn't have spent my time or money on these. 5. AANP practice exams- $50 well spent! I purchased both the FNP version as well as the Adult-Geri version. A good handful of questions crossed over between both versions of the exam, but I saw one question from the Adult-Geri exam written verbatim on my real exam, as well as a couple others that were modeled closely after questions on the practice exams. I think these exams are a good indicator of what the real exam is like, with the exception of the fact that they are only 75 questions, so you don't run into the exam fatigue that I typically hit after 100 questions. I scored in the low 80's on both practice exams. I committed about 4 half days as well as 3 full days to studying, and it was enough to feel relatively comfortable going into the exam. Most of my nerves were rooted in the idea that I could be making a huge mistake since most people take 6 weeks to study. But it all worked out! After you finish the 150 questions, the computer will ask you if you want to take a survey, and then your results will display in a PASSED/NOT PASS� format. My testing center also printed the results for me. Happy studying and good luck! ?