Exam Format
AANP: Exam Pearls
AANP FNP exam contains very few nonclinical questions
Certification tests are designed for entry-level
... [Show More] practice
AANP has 15 pilot questions which are not graded [there is NO WAY to identify the pilot test questions from the graded questions]
New clinical info [treatment and/or guidelines] released in the last 10 months won’t be on the exam
Questions will be on primary care disorders – if you are guessing, AVOID PICKING EXOTIC
DIAGNOSIS AS AN ANSWER
Labs
Normal lab results pertinent to a question WILL ONLY BE LISTED ONCE. Use your scratch sheet of paper to jot down these values if given.
Follow the LAB NORMS GIVEN BY AANP not what you learned in NP school
Learn the significance of abnormal lab values AND type of follow-up needed [i.e. elderly gentleman with c/o scalp tenderness + indurated temporal artery, NP suspects temporal arteritis. Screening test is sed rate – which is expected to be MUCH HIGHER than normal value]
Good to Know
Expect one question related to dental injury [i.e. completely avulsed permanent tooth should be reimplanted ASAP! It can be transported to dentist in cold milk (not frozen milk)
May be a question on epidemiologic terms (i.e. sensitivity is defined as the ability of a test to detect a person who has the disease. Specificity is defined as the ability of a test to detect a person who is healthy or detect the person without the disease)
Learn definition of some research study designs: cohort follows a group of people who share some common characteristics to observe the development of a disease over time – Framingham nurses health study
Emergent conditions that will present in primary care clinics will be on the exam: navicular fracture, MI, cauda equina syndrome, anaphylaxis, angioedema, meningococcal meningitis
Know some anatomic areas: trauma to Kiesselbach’s plexus = anterior nosebleed
Some questions ask about “gold-standard test” or the “diagnostic test for the condition”: sickle cell anemia, G6PD anemia, and alpha/beta thalassemia = hgb electrophoresis
Disease states are usually presented in their “full-blown classic” textbook presentation: acute mononucleosis, teen will have classic triad of sore throat, prolonged fatigue, and enlarged cervical nodes. If patient is older with same signs/symptoms, it is still mononucleosis reactivated type
Ethic background may provide clues to disease: alpha thal = southeast Asia / Filipinos; beta thal = Mediterranean
NO ASYMPTOMATIC or BORDERLINE CASES OF DISEASE STATES WILL BE ON THE EXAM: IDA in “real life” don’t present often with pica or spoon-shaped nails, on the exam they [Show Less]