The vital learning and development steps involved in gaining the qualifications you need to be a family nurse practitioner are not easy, but with commitment and the right guidance, you can be confident in your success and be well on your way to a fulfilling nursing career.
The role of family nurse practitioner is a responsible and challenging healthcare position that demands advanced nursing skills and insights. So, naturally, the qualification process is exacting and intense. The examinations involved are not for the faint-hearted and seek to provide a high degree of certainty that candidates have the right level of professional and personal knowledge and skills.
There may be different boards for achieving nursing practitioner certification (more on this later) but the central theme is the same. You need to be ready to invest time, resources, and resilience into getting through these exams successfully.
What you are tested on
The foundation of nurse practitioner examinations is physical assessment knowledge, pathophysiology, and pharmacology. The best study programs are developed on this foundation, and reliable, proven resources are needed to support you in navigating each area. While undertaking your degree program, you will become familiar with the learning outcomes needed for each of these foundations, and the level of insight and analysis the examination markers are looking for. You also need to ensure that you take every opportunity you can to access a variety of assessments to gauge and reinforce your competency levels on all fronts.
Having test questions, topic reviews, and critical thinking and clinical reasoning tasks interwoven into your study program makes perfect sense. This constant evaluation, and opportunities to rehearse and master topics, give nurse practitioner students the best chance of passing their examinations the first time.
Find the right FNP program and mentor
This is pretty much examination success 101, as the FNP qualification provider you opt for needs to be authoritative, supportive, and highly responsive to the needs of its students.
Your decision may be swayed by which of the governing bodies offering FNP certification for nurse practitioners you prefer to study under. You have a choice of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) Certification Board and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). There are subtle differences in their approaches. It is worth researching this before choosing a qualification program.
Also, look at the education institute you are considering carefully, to make sure the one you choose is the best fit for you. Of course, the provider’s examination success rates will count for a lot, but so will their description of how they support, nurture, and coach their students.
Since the pandemic, many RNs who are progressing to advanced practice have chosen to study for their nursing practitioner qualifications online. Online study provides an important amount of flexibility to work around your existing job role and any family commitments you may have. A lot of investment has been made into creating strong levels of digital interaction, and excellent online curriculum delivery, too.
Good institutions that focus on high-quality nursing programs ensure that students have access to a professional preceptor through clinical placements. Texas Woman’s University (TWU) for example, understands the importance of mentorship in nursing, and offers 3 robust patient care experiences for its students. Studying on TWU’s Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner program, students can expect to learn the theoretical foundations of advanced practice nursing roles, ensuring they themselves become excellent leaders and specialists in the medical field.
Prepare and plan
If you do choose to study remotely for your FNP qualifications, you may need to focus on specific online research study tips geared around the fact much of your planning and learning will be a solo, digital endeavor. Most students work as RNs throughout their further education programs. That means you certainly need a study schedule and student support that fits around your work commitments and does not lead to burnout.
Qualifying as a family nurse practitioner involves a considerable commitment of time and effort, and it is vital to plan well in advance for the examinations you will face. This starts with keeping your notes organized throughout your study time frame. Also, revising everything in the weeks prior to the exam can be daunting. It is better to keep going back over your notes as often as possible, and constantly test and reinforce your knowledge. Then, you can work backward from your examination dates, and start scheduling topics and how you will tackle them, to leave yourself enough time to do justice to every element.
Don’t be tempted to start with the subject areas you especially enjoyed, leaving your biggest challenges to the final exam ‘push’. This can result in a feeling of panic and dread, and not having enough time to fill in any gaps in your knowledge. Instead, your study schedule should focus on the more complex and exacting material first, so you get confident with that in plenty of time. Then, you can refresh yourself on the topics you were always comfortable with before the big day comes.
Optimize all your study resources and techniques
This is not just about making the most of all the FNP student support you are offered, and such things as books and online revision aids. Choose the methodology that suits you best. For example, some people assimilate information best via mind mapping, while others prefer visual or auditory learning. Other students find information ‘sticks’ if they create opportunities to explain it to other people, and another alternative learning method is taking in as much information as possible just before you go to sleep. Experiment, mix and match, and find your own personal revision and rehearsal technique.
Being organized and strategic in your approach is also about being transparent about your weak areas, and actively seeking out help to address these. Ignoring gaps in your knowledge or areas of confusion is not going to help your confidence or your overall pass mark. The best online FNP study programs include ample opportunities to communicate with tutors and specialists, to go over any areas that you are sketchy on.
Being fully committed to this process of evaluating your understanding, and then improving it, is not just about passing these examinations; it is also going to help you develop an essential ability for your future post.
As medical science is advancing all the time, and no one patient is the same as the next, it is a mindset you will need as a nurse practitioner. You will no doubt need to engage with lifelong learning to ensure you always have up-to-date skills and knowledge and can give each patient the best possible healthcare experience.
Keep it personal and show commitment
To be a nurse practitioner, you need a genuine commitment to the increased clinical responsibilities you will have, and the fact you will need leadership qualities and critical analysis skills alongside your technical abilities.
Qualifying as a family nurse practitioner involves immersing yourself in a lot of technical information, and clinical scenarios and also building your personal, so-called ‘soft’ skills. The exam is going to thoroughly test your understanding and ability to apply what you have learned. That won’t be easy, and you need to be ready for that and be determined to succeed, not letting moments of self-doubt trip you up for too long.
One of the best ways to motivate yourself and get through the tougher times is to keep your eye firmly on your end goal. Why did you personally decide to be a family nurse practitioner, and in what ways do you see yourself making a difference to your community, and the individual patients you will care for?
For example, remind yourself that as an FNP, you will have important educational and preventative healthcare duties. This provides you with opportunities to not only diagnose and treat patients but also to avoid them getting ill in the first place. That alone is a great incentive to put the hours in, and not get disheartened when you hit a stumbling block or have a moment of feeling overwhelmed.
Also, remember that countless other people have successfully navigated this learning process and examination. They no doubt had concerns at times and found it challenging, but now they are qualified and enjoying the daily benefits of being a valued family nurse practitioner.
Lean on peers and mentors
Knowing that you are not alone can be an important motivation to keep going, but you can also reach out to others to share this learning and qualification journey in other ways. Connecting with other people studying for FNP examinations enables you to organize virtual or in-person study groups, for example. It is amazing how this sort of dynamic gives everyone a boost, especially when it’s a mix of people with different strengths and weaknesses.
You could also seek out a local mentor or coach and get some insights and support from a qualified FNP. They can share the things that helped them personally and encourage you to not let the exam daunt you too much. Remember though, study methods that work well for others may not be entirely suitable for you, and developing your own individual study schedule and methodology is best.
Focus on exam-day test-taking strategies
There are some common things you can do in preparation for taking these tests. The first is to take as many sample tests as possible. This will familiarize you with how the questions are framed and worded. It will also enable you to get a good understanding of the time it takes to complete your FNP examinations. This can be summed up in four words: practice, practice, and more practice.
When it is time for the real deal, make sure you are well-rested, properly hydrated, and have everything you need to get through this time period in a focused manner.
It can be helpful to tell your family and friends that these are an important few days, and you will need them to be supportive. That may include helping you with childcare, for example, so you can reserve all your energy for exam day. Or it could be that they can help you by avoiding distracting you during those key days leading up to your FNP tests.
Remember the FNP examinations are designed to help you to be the best possible candidate for future job roles. They are not some kind of medieval torture, or something designed to deliberately trip you up.
Qualified FNPs’ advice
As previously mentioned, it can be helpful to know how other people coped with the examinations and their experience of studying and preparing. So, here are some first-hand accounts of what is involved.
One nurse practitioner (FNP) who has successfully navigated both the qualification process and the demanding first months in advanced practice is Kimberly Poje, MS, RN, FNP-BC. Her advice is to “study for the exam for 3 to 4 months, take a review class, and then take the exam shortly afterward.”
Beginning your exam study well in advance allows you to focus on your weaknesses as well as reinforce your strengths. Reviewing classes close to the time of the exam refreshes information in your mind and eliminates the possibility of self-doubt and panic. Kimberley also recommends that you stay in your current post during your qualification process, and not making any big life changes at this moment in time makes sense. This avoids the risk of having too many pressures and new things to learn, just when you are attempting to achieve examination success as an FNP.
Daniel Bal, MS.Ed also provides some great insights in his article on the best ways of preparing for nurse practitioner (NP) board certification. Daniel’s advice includes finding a significant amount of self-study resources. He says: “Creating a strategy by organizing what and when to study becomes necessary for test-takers to pass on their first attempt. The more you prepare for the certification exam, the more likely you are to succeed.”
By ensuring your resources are organized, you can efficiently work through your study material, ensuring that you cover all bases and are suitably prepared for your exams. As well as organizing your resources, it is also important to efficiently organize your time. Make a study schedule so that you can ensure you stay on top of your revision, and don’t leave anything until the last minute.
Scheduling each aspect of your learning and development is also absolutely vital. Use schedules to make sure you are regularly reaffirming your knowledge and developing your skills. Another tip is to take the board certificate as soon as possible after graduating, to ensure your newly acquired knowledge is fresh in your mind.
Where to find good resources
Finally, where can you find the best resources to help you to pass your FNP certification examinations? There is no one answer to this, as there are various opinions, and the materials and online resources you find most valuable may be personal to you.
However, a good starting point is family nurse practitioner certification review books. You will often find recommendations for Margaret Fitzgerald’s ‘Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination and Practice Preparation’ in particular. There are also some excellent suggestions and ideas within this article on the top resources for nurse practitioners. You could also always ask your qualification provider for their recommendations and talk to your peers in the same study program as you about what books and online resources they use and recommend.
We hope this guide to passing your FNP certification exams has given you some new strategies and ideas and some helpful ways to plan and grow as a student nurse moving into a medical career! We wish you the very best of luck in your endeavors!