Suggestion for preparing for NP cert exam?

Specialties NP

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Specializes in ICU, M/S, PICU, Hospice, FNP school.

For those of you who are beyond this point, was wondering, is it a good idea to get the review books for post grad certification and chip away at it as you go through your program? I know I did this for other certs and by the time I got to the exam it was a no brainer as I was so used to it. If this is the case, what review books are suggested? The ones on the AANP site?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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Review books are just that a review. If you use them to suppliment your texts in school it might be a good idea. I know some former students who tried to get by with the review book rather than a full text in a class they did not like some did ok but not a good idea.

But use your entire program to not only prepare for baords but practice. If you can get extra clinical time, and as your abilities progress take more challenging patients. There are also some great pocket sized books to take to clinicals not to mention softwear in pdas and phones.

Jeremy

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Specializes in ICU, M/S, PICU, Hospice, FNP school.

Can you let me know specifics on what pocket sized book helps and pda software you found helpful? There is a lot out there. Someone highly recommended the Fitzpatrick review texts and thought I would just chip away at it through the program.

any suggestions you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the post!

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I realized for my FNP program I was going to be having long commutes to school and some of my clinical sites. So I got one of the review courses on CD to listen to while I drive.

I also use the cd's to review for upcoming exams since they are organized by system. This makes good use of my time driving -and I found out that I am more of an auditory learner than I thought!

I graduate in August so I can't tell you this helped me pass yet!

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Specializes in Emergency, MCCU, Surgical/ENT, Hep Trans.

Simple, two authors:

Fitzgerald, a pro, has been writing for test reviews and giving live seminars for years. Her book is by system, with questions along each system. Very helpful. I also got her CD, helpful AND entertaining! Her voice, humor and stressing of study items was on the money.

Listened to the CD to/from work everyday. After several weeks, found myself talking along with her. I can still hear her helping me!

Leik, comprehensive, written by system, lots of "snippets" and hundreds of questions, randomly arranged in the back of the book. Very up2date, more like the exams. Found I used Leik in the car, waiting in line, book is easy to carry around. My friends loved quizzing me with Leik, and they learned too! Many of the questions were either the same or similar to the tests.

Having said this, I went thru and found that each book complemented the other. Fitz went into more depth on most subjects. Leik crammed a lot into her book, very broad scope, kinda like school in one book. I plan to keep both books in my office. Both books are a resource, even after you grad/pass exams. Bravo to both authors!

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