Passing AANP FNP Exam

I recently graduated from the Family Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Texas at Arlington. One of the biggest decisions I had to make during the program was how to study for the FNP certification exam. I was very stressed about passing the first time because a) I am a terrible test taker b) The test costs money to take and c) I didn’t want to spend money on a live test review if I didn’t have to. 

So, after a lot of research this is what I decided to do, and it worked! I passed the AANP FNP certification exam in December 2019 on my first try 😊 

1) Leik Mobile App

 This was a lifesaver! The information is laid out in a concise way which is also easy to understand and remember. But the best part is the mobile app with over 725 practice questions with rationales which are similar types of questions you can expect to see on the certification exam. I created a study guide based on the book and added the rationales/ information from the questions that I did not answer correctly. The app is super convenient and you can go through questions while you are eating lunch, standing in line at the store, or when you have down time in between seeing patients during clinical rotations. 

I went through the questions a total of three times. 

Here is a link to the book (which comes with a code for the mobile app)

Here is a link for just the mobile app

2) APEA Review Tests

These are predictor exams with 150 questions each and are timed. This is a great way to practice for the actual certification exam. I took one predictor exam when I first started studying to see which areas I needed to focus my studying on. Then I took one more predictor exam about one week before I took the certification exam to boost my confidence since I tend to get nervous in testing environments. I scored 76% on the first one and 82% on the second one. When you complete an exam you get to review the answers and rationales to the questions. I also added these rationales to my study guide. 

Here is a link to the APEA Predictor Exams

3) AANP FNP practice exam through PSI. It was 75 questions and meets the AANP blue print and content requirements for the certification exam. After you finish the exam it shows the correct answers but not rationale. I found this exam to be useful to get a feel of what content would be on the certification exam. I scored 80% on this. 

Here is the link for the PSI practice exam

Now this is what worked for me, and I’m not saying it will work for everyone. But through my many years of school I have found I learn information best when I go over practice questions because it makes me really think about and process the information. I then put it all into a concise study guide of about 6 pages so that I would have everything in one place to quickly review multiple times as I got closer to my testing day. Having this study guide printed out and with me made me feel more secure. I would review information in my head/ quiz myself then use the study guide I made as a reference to make sure I was remembering everything correctly :)   

Remember that this certification exam is testing entry level knowledge. You have already come a long way and learned a TON in school! Try not to stress. Studying is really just reviewing important information you have already learned and applying it to situations/ questions. You’ve got this! Good luck!

Associate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn commission from qualifying purchases made using links I post.