Officially Meagan, FNP-BC ! ~tips & tricks for FNP boards studying~
Yes, that's right! I am officially a BOARD CERTIFIED FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER, friends!
Thanks for dropping in and tagging along my NP journey!
Just as a disclaimer, I did have this entire post done about a week ago, but then something happened and I must have exited out of the tab and I lost the ENTIRE blog post. I was sad about it. I worked really hard on it and couldn't bring myself to start from scratch quite yet. But I decided I think now is the time! I passed the ANCC (American Nurses Credentialing Center) boards exam for Family NP specialty on July 27th after about 1.5 months of (more like 2 weeks intensive) studying.
BOARDS CERTIFICATION IN A NUT SHELL -->
When you have completed coursework for your NP program, you are to sit for a national boards exam. (certification is NOT licensure. you need a STATE license in addition to board certification)
There are TWO governing boards which I had the options to choose from (both allow you to practice as a NP, it's more of a preference. most hospitals and institutions accept either certifications) -->
ANCC (American Nurses Credentialing Center)
Grants you -BC (ex. Jane Doe, FNP-BC)
Multiple choice, drag and drop, select two/three answers, hot spot types of questions)
AANP (American Association of Nurse Practitioners)
Grants you -C (ex. Jane Doe, FNP-C)
Multiple choice
Let's dive in to study materials! --> --> -->
Fitzgerald Health Education Associates
https://fhea.com/npexpert/
Personal thoughts -->
I purchased the online review course where I could watch (and rewatch) the videos myself on my own pace. There were some classmates that opted for the two day intensive in class review session.
Was it entirely worth the $375? Not to me unfortunately. Fitzgerald went very in depth with a lot of concepts which might be helpful for when you're actually practicing in the real world, but for the sake of knowing just what you need to know to pass the exam, it wasn't necessary. I will say that the end of the course practice test WAS a pretty good representation of the difficulty of the actual boards exam itself.
Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Intensive Review book by Maria Leik
Personal thoughts -->
YES! Make this purchase!
Physical book, comes with code to download phone app with over 700 practice questions and solid rationales
Read it from front to cover twice
Amelie Hollier's APEA NP Review
https://www.apea.com/attend-a-course
Personal thoughts -->
Yes, suggest! Through some friends and digging around, I was able to watch some of the online boards review videos which were great! Straight to the point. She also has in class sessions who do better with that type of learning style.
Other good options -->
Join FB groups for Nurse Practitioner Networking or Study Groups for your specialty. It can be helpful to see what other people are using to study. Sometimes people post their own Quizlets or Study Guides that are really great and comprehensive!
Walden review - https://www.waldenexamsolutions.com/
Board vitals - https://www.boardvitals.com/
I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments below! :) Have a wonderful weekend! I have less than two more weeks here in NYC before I move back to California! Eeps! More updates to come!
Sincerely,
Meagan